Reports

Report of the General Board on the establishment of a Professorship of Ophthalmology

The General Board beg leave to report to the University as follows:

1. The School of Clinical Medicine pursues its mission of medical education and research in close collaboration with its NHS partners, and identifies research themes which will link key areas of biomedical science with relevant clinical problems of importance to the health service. One such area is Ophthalmology, which is the clinical discipline dealing with diseases affecting the eye and vision, and their surgical and medical treatment.

2. Ophthalmology is a well-developed clinical specialty within the NHS covering a wide range of diseases affecting the eye, including conditions of significant public health importance such as age-related macular degeneration and cataract. Emerging advances in the biological and physical sciences offer opportunities for novel approaches to the treatment of eye disease and visual impairment. In Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, the Ophthalmology Service is part of the Division of Surgery: it provides a general ophthalmology service for the Cambridge area and specialist eye services for the Eastern Region. Teaching in Ophthalmology to clinical medical students is provided by NHS staff.

3. Within the School of Clinical Medicine there are considerable research strengths in and related to Ophthalmology and eye disease. In the Department of Clinical Neuroscience and the Brain Repair Centre, research interests include central nervous system repair and retinal disease, which interface with interests relevant to retinal repair in the MRC Centre for Stem Cell Biology and Medicine, as well as research in the Institute of Metabolic Science devoted to understanding diabetes, which is a major cause of retinal disease. Other research strengths include the genetics of eye disease and have involved collaborative projects with Institutes such as the Wellcome Trust Sanger Centre. Ophthalmology represents an established clinical and academic speciality and offers opportunities to forge collaborative links in translational research directed to the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the eye, and to the management and correction of visual impairment.

4. The Faculty Board of Clinical Medicine have consulted with their principal NHS partner in this area (Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust), and consider that it would be appropriate at the present time to establish a Professorship of Ophthalmology which will be funded by Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust for a single tenure. The Professorship would complement existing strengths in the School and beyond, and would provide leadership in research and teaching in the field. The Faculty Board therefore recommend the establishment, for a single tenure, of a Professorship of Ophthalmology, assigned to the Department of Clinical Neurosciences. The Faculty Board has undertaken to provide the necessary support and facilities for the work of the Professor from within existing resources.

5. The General Board have accepted the proposal for the establishment of the Professorship on this basis and are assured that the proposed Professorship can be expected to attract a strong field of well-qualified candidates. The Board have agreed that election to the Professorship should be made by an ad hoc Board of Electors and that candidature should be open without limitation or preference to all persons whose work falls within the general field of the title of the Professorship.

6. The General Board recommend:

That a Professorship of Ophthalmology be established in the University, for a single tenure from 1 October 2009, placed in Schedule B of the Statutes, and assigned to the Department of Clinical Neurosciences.

6 January 2010	Alison Richard, Vice-Chancellor	Simon Franklin	Rachael Padman
	N. Bampos	Andrew Gamble	J. Rallison
	William Brown	C. A. Gilligan	J. G. P. Sissons
	Philip Ford	D. Good	Sam Wakeford

Report of the General Board on the re-establishment of the Professorship of Mathematical Sciences

The General Board beg leave to report to the University as follows:

1. In their Report on the establishment of certain fixed-term Professorships and Readerships (Reporter, 2000–01, p. 814), the General Board proposed, inter alia, the establishment of a Professorship of Mathematical Sciences in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics for Professor J. D. Barrow for the period 1 October 2001 to 30 September 2009. The Professorship was established for a fixed term to coincide with the availability of external funds supporting the Professorship held by Professor Barrow. The recommendations of this Report were approved by Grace 8 of 25 July 2001.

2. The Professor of Mathematical Sciences undertakes duties as Director of the Millennium Mathematics Project, which aims to improve the understanding and appreciation of mathematics amongst young people and the public at large by introducing mathematics in new ways that display its relevance to the commercial, scientific, and cultural worlds.

3. The Department has agreed to meet the cost of the Professorship for the remainder of Professor Barrow’s tenure, covering the period from 1 October 2009 to 30 September 2020, and has identified a University Lectureship that it will suppress for this purpose. Any remaining costs for the duration of Professor Barrow’s tenure will be met from funds available to the Department. This has been endorsed by the Council of the School of the Physical Sciences and the General Board have accepted the Department’s proposal for the re-establishment of the Professorship on this basis.

4. The General Board accordingly recommend that the Professorship of Mathematical Sciences, established by Grace 8 of 25 July 2001, be re-established from 1 October 2009 for the tenure of Professor Barrow, placed in Schedule B of the Statutes, and assigned to the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics.

6 January 2010	Alison Richard, Vice-Chancellor	Simon Franklin	Rachael Padman
	N. Bampos	Andrew Gamble	J. Rallison
	William Brown	C. A. Gilligan	J. G. P. Sissons
	Philip Ford	D. Good	Sam Wakeford

Report of the General Board on the title of the Regius Professorship of Modern History

The General Board beg leave to report to the University as follows:

1. The Regius Professorship of Modern History was established in 1724. At that time, the term Modern History was generally understood to encompass all history since the fall of the Roman Empire, contrasting with Ancient History, which covered the period before that. Consequently, the holders of the Professorship have included many distinguished medievalists as well as historians working on later periods. In the 21st century, however, the use of terminology has changed and Modern History is now generally understood to cover the period since about 1500, if it is contrasted with Medieval History, or since 1800 if the term Early Modern History is deployed to cover the intervening three centuries.

2. The Faculty Board of History have recommended that the title should be brought into line with the generally accepted terminology, in order to make it clear that the scope of the Regius Professorship does indeed cover the whole of history since the fall of the Roman Empire, as originally envisaged and interpreted in the filling of the Professorship, including the most recent appointment of Professor R. J. Evans. Professor Evans has been consulted about the change in title which he endorses. Consultation with the Crown has taken place and no objection has been raised to the proposal.

3. The General Board therefore recommend:

I. That the title of the Regius Professorship of Modern History be changed to the Regius Professorship of History with effect from the date of the approval by Her Majesty in Council of the amendments to the Statutes of the University set out in the Annex of this Report.

II. That, subject to the approval of Her Majesty in Council, the Statutes of the University be amended as set out in the Annex to this Report and that these amendments be submitted under the Common Seal of the University to Her Majesty in Council for approval.

6 January 2010	Alison Richard, Vice-Chancellor	Simon Franklin	Rachael Padman
	N. Bampos	Andrew Gamble	J. Rallison
	William Brown	C. A. Gilligan	J. G. P. Sissons
	Philip Ford	D. Good	Sam Wakeford

ANNEX

Statute D

THE UNIVERSITY OFFICERS

Chapter XIV

THE PROFESSORS

Section 1.

By amending the first clause so as to read:

There shall be in the University the Regius Professorships of Divinity, Civil Law, Physic, Hebrew, Greek, History, and Botany;

Chapter XV

ELECTIONS TO PROFESSORSHIPS

Section 1(a).

By replacing in this clause the words ‘Modern History’ by the words ‘History’.

Statute E

TRUST EMOLUMENTS

Chapter XXXII

ENDOWED PROFESSORS AND READERS

Section 1.

By replacing in the last line of the second paragraph the words ‘Modern History’ by the word ‘History’.

Report of the Faculty Board of Computer Science and Technology on the introduction of a Part III in the Computer Science Tripos as a new route to the M.Eng. Degree

The Faculty Board of Computer Science and Technology beg leave to report to the University as follows:

1. The Computer Science Tripos is unusual among science admissions subjects in only offering a B.A. route. Tripos students often find it necessary to undertake Master’s level study prior to joining Ph.D. programmes or to gain the research training which is increasingly demanded for careers in the sciences and engineering. An M.Phil. in Advanced Computer Science has been introduced which has attracted an exceptional field of external applicants, but this does not take full cognisance of the needs of internal students who are often better-suited to an integrated Master’s route. Consequently, the Computer Laboratory propose that a Part III should be introduced, which would normally be taken as the fourth year of study.

2. The proposed Part III will maintain the attraction of studying Computer Science at the University of Cambridge over other Russell Group universities, many of which already offer four-year integrated Master’s courses resulting in an M.Eng. Degree.

3. The Faculty Board propose that the four-year Tripos should be introduced in October 2010, with University approval secured during 2009–10 to ensure Student Support funding from 2010–11. Directors of Studies have been informed that they can cautiously indicate these plans to students applying for 2010 entry. It is proposed that transfers may be accepted from the three-year Computer Science Tripos prior to 2013–14 (when 2010–11 entrants to the four-year Tripos will take the Part III) by Head of Department’s Notice. This will capitalize on course sharing with the M.Phil. in Advanced Computer Science and will help to retain existing outstanding students within the Department.

4. It is proposed that successful completion of the Part III after four years of study should lead to the M.Eng. Degree. This is widely supported within the Department, and has been approved by the Faculty Board of Engineering and the Engineering Accreditation Board. The proposal would add a fourth M.Eng. pathway to those already offered at the University:

– Chemical Engineering Tripos;

– Engineering Tripos;

– Manufacturing Engineering Tripos.

5. The proposed Part III will not be accredited in the first instance, but accreditation will be sought in due course from the Chartered Institute of Information Technology and the Institution of Engineering and Technology. Absence of accreditation is not expected to affect applications or graduates.

6. The Part III will share some modules with the M.Phil. in Advanced Computer Science. However, there will be important differences between the programmes:

– the Part III workload will be 75% of that of the M.Phil. (9 modules as opposed to 12 modules for the M.Phil.);

– the Part III will be designed as a ‘research preparation’ programme whereas the M.Phil. will focus on ‘research’. Consequently some modules may not be appropriate for both programmes.

7. The Faculty Board have considered the resource implications of introducing the Part III and have concluded that the additional teaching and administrative burden will be minimal. The Council of the School of Technology approved the proposal at its meeting on 23 October 2009.

8. The Senior Tutors’ Committee approved the proposal at its meeting on 27 November 2009.

9. Candidates will normally be required to receive First Class Honours at Part II to progress to the Part III. The Department expects no more than 20 students to progress to the Part III each year.1

10. The Part III will not in the first instance lend or borrow papers from any other Department, although it is hoped that in due course papers will be shared with the Department of Engineering and the Faculty of Mathematics.

11. The Faculty Board accordingly recommend:

I. That the regulations for the Computer Science Tripos (Statutes and Ordinances, p. 296) be amended as set out in the Annex to this Report with effect from 1 October 2010.

II. That the Ordinance for the Master of Engineering (Statutes and Ordinances, p. 457) be amended, with effect from the same date, to add Part III of the Computer Science Tripos so as to read:

On completing the requisite number of terms, a student who has obtained honours in Part IIb of the Chemical Engineering Tripos or in Part IIb of the Engineering Tripos or in Part II of the Manufacturing Engineering Tripos or in Part III of the Computer Science Tripos shall be entitled to proceed to the M.Eng. Degree.

III. That the regulations for Affiliated Students (Statutes and Ordinances, p. 173) be amended, with effect from the same date, so that the entry for Computer Science reads:

Computer Science

If the Faculty Board of Computer Science and Technology allow it in a particular case, leave to take Part Ib of the Computer Science Tripos in the second term after the student’s first term of actual residence or Part II of the Computer Science Tripos in the second term after the student’s first term of actual residence without having previously obtained honours in an Honours Examination.

1 December 2009	P. Hewett, Chairman	A. Hopper	P. Lio
	P. Brooks	J. Lang	S. W. Moore
	J. A. Crowcroft	J. Lasenby	A. M. Pitts
	N. A. Dodgson	M. A. Levitt

ANNEX

COMPUTER SCIENCE TRIPOS

1. The Computer Science Tripos shall consist of four Parts: Part Ia, Part Ib, Part II, and Part III.

(Regulations 2–7 will remain unchanged.)

8. The papers for Parts Ia, Ib, and II of the Computer Science Tripos shall be as follows:

Paper 1. Computer science 1.2	Paper 6. Computer science 6.
Paper 2. Computer science 2.	Paper 7. Computer science 7.
Paper 3. Computer science 3.	Paper 8. Computer science 8.
Paper 4. Computer science 4.	Paper 9. Computer science 9.
Paper 5. Computer science 5.

(Regulations 9–14 will remain unchanged.)

Part II

15. A student who has obtained honours in Part Ib of the Computer Science Tripos may be a candidate for honours in Part II in the year after so obtaining honours, provided that he or she has kept seven terms and that twelve complete terms have not passed after her or his first term of residence.3

(Regulations 16–17 will remain unchanged.)

Part III

18. A student who has obtained honours in Part II of the Computer Science Tripos may be a candidate for honours in Part III in the year after so obtaining honours, provided that he or she:

(a)has kept ten terms and that fifteen complete terms have not passed after her or his first term of residence;3

(b)has attained a satisfactory standard, as defined by the Faculty Board, in previous honours examinations;

(c)has not proceeded to the B.A. Degree.

19. A candidate for Part III shall offer a combination of written papers, project dissertations, essays, and demonstrations of research training as duly specified by the notice of the Head of the Department not later than the division of the Michaelmas Term next preceding the examination.

Other than for written papers, each candidate will be required to sign a declaration that each unit of assessment is her or his own work, unaided except as may be specified in the declaration, and that it does not contain material that has already been used to any substantial extent for a comparable purpose; if two or more candidates have undertaken a dissertation in collaboration, they will each be required to indicate the extent of their contribution. The Examiners shall have power to examine any candidate viva voce on the subject of such work and on the general field of knowledge within which it falls.