Cambridge Online Summer School
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Medicine
Financial Mathematics
Physics
Biology
Neuroscience
Eengineering
Mathematics
Chemistry
Computer Science
— Invitation letter —
— Welcome Letter —
— About Cambridge —
Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the fourth-oldest university in the world. There are 31 Colleges, six Schools and over 150 Faculties and Departments that make up the University of Cambridge, covering a vast array of subjects and specialised areas of research.
— Introduction —
The Cambridge Online Summer School is officially run by Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge. All the courses will be taught by Cambridge faculty members. The core of Fitzwilliam's academic activities is a desire to retain 'the best of the old', while enthusiastically embracing 'the best of the new'. Fitzwilliam has always been characterised by discussion, debate and creativity of ideas and full participation should form a positive, rewarding and sustainable part of an academic course. This programme is designed to provide students with a flavour of undergraduate study at Cambridge, and an opportunity to explore topics beyond what is covered within the school curriculum.
Starting in 2023, Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge and ASDAN China have entered into a strategic partnership to open the Fitzwilliam College, University of Cambridge, Summer School Program to outstanding high school students in China for the first time. Nine subject areas will be open for the summer of 2023.
可选课程
数学
计算机科学
化学
物理
生物
医学
行为心理学
工程
— Why us？ —
— Programme Outcome —
- Students who attend at least 80% of the classes, write their essay and give their presentation will receive a certi cate of completion by Fitzwilliam College.
- Each student will write an academic essay and receive an individual feedback report from the academic leads.
- Outstanding students (Top 2 of each class) will receive an award certificate, and their essays will be published on the website of Fitzwilliam College.
Certificate of Completion
Certificate of Execellence
— Teaching Faculty —
* The final lecturer is subject to the official arrangements of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge.
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Dr Ashraf Zarkan
Research Fellow and Group Leader, Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge
Dr Ash Zarkan is a microbiologist with a long-standing interest in infectious diseases and microbial genetics. He is an active member of the Microbiology Society, and he serves as an academic reviewer for a number of prestigious microbiology journals and grant funding bodies.
Professor Matthew J. Mason
Professor of Comparative Physiology, Department of Physiology, Development & Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Fellow at St Catharine’s College
Prof. Matt Mason, MA PhD PGCert SFHEA FRSB FAandMEd, is Director of Studies in Physiology at St Catharine's. He is also the University Physiologist, taking a central role in co-ordinating the teaching, examining and practical classes for the physiology courses taught within the University. He therefore has a great deal of experience in teaching physiology to medical, veterinary and natural science students.
Dr Joao Rodrigues
Director of Studies, St Catharine's College, University of Cambridge
At present Joao teaches several Physics and Mathematics courses for first, second and third year students in the Natural Sciences and the Mathematical Tripos of the University of Cambridge. He is also a Bye-Fellow of Wolfson College at the University of Cambridge.
Dr Aaron D’sa
Specialist Registrar in Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine at Addenbrooke's Hospital, Fellow at Fitzwilliam College
My BA is in Law, and after graduating from Fitzwilliam in 2012 I undertook an LLM in Medical Law. My Masters thesis examined 'Do Not Resuscitate' orders, and their similarities with other 'ceiling of care' decisions. I teach medical law and ethics to undergraduate and postgraduate medics, and assist in the development of clinical guidelines for consent and assessing capacity. I am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and teach Neuroscience and Physiology to undergraduate medical and natural science students. -
Mrs. Serena Povia
College Teaching Associate at St John's College, University of Cambridge
Serena has been a supervisor in Physics and Mathematics for the Natural Sciences course for about ten years. She is currently teaching the Physics and Mathematics courses for the first and second years, and previously also the third year.
Dr Emily Lees
Clinical Lecturer in Paediatrics at the University of Oxford, Research Fellow at Fitzwilliam College, University of Cambridge
I am a Research Fellow at Fitzwilliam College and a Clinical Lecturer in Paediatrics at the University of Oxford. I am completing my Paediatric clinical training in the field of Infectious Diseases and Immunology. I completed an Academic Clinical Fellowship at the University of Liverpool during my first 3 years of Paediatric training. Following this, I undertook a PhD looking at the interactions of Salmonellae with the human host, in the form of hiPSC-derived gut organoids and macrophages at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute / Fitzwilliam College from 2016-2019, and returned to Fitzwilliam as a Research fellow in 2021.
Dr Vihanga Munasinghe
Post-doctoral Research Associate at the Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge
Vihanga is a post-doctoral research associate in Supramolecular Chemistry at the Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge. She is a Rokos PDRA at Queens' College, which is awarded for outstanding post-doctoral researchers at the University of Cambridge.
Professor Kourosh Saeb-Parsy
Professor of Transplantation, Department of Surgery, University of Cambridge, Fellow at Fitzwilliam College
Professor Kourosh Saeb-Parsy joined the Department of Surgery in 2007 as a Clinical Lecturer and was appointed as University Lecturer and Honorary Consultant Transplant Surgeon in 2012. He was appointed as Reader in Transplantation in 2018. He has also been a Fellow and Director of Studies in Clinical Medicine at Fitzwilliam College since 2003. His laboratory research interests are focused on the cellular and humoral immune response to transplantation, the impact of ischaemia reperfusion injury on acute and chronic graft function, and the immunogenicity of stem cells and their derivatives. His clinical research is directed towards identification of donor and recipient factors that can affect graft and patient outcomes after kidney, pancreas and liver transplantation. -
Dr Alexandra Krugliak
Research Associate at the Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge
Currently Alexandra is a Research Associate at the Department of Psychology at the University of Cambridge. Her main research interest is how the human brain processes natural objects. She obtained a PhD from the University of Birmingham (United Kingdom).
Dr Aude Rauscent
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Bye-Fellow at Fitzwilliam College
My research is interested in the neurophysiological and neuropharmacological substrates of compulsive disorders such as drug addiction and obsessive compulsive disorder.
Dr Andrea Giusti
Bye-Fellow, Fitzwilliam College, University of Cambridge
Andrea is a Bye-Fellow of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge and a Lecturer in Thermofluids at Imperial College London, Department of Mechanical Engineering. In addition to the academic role at Imperial College, he is the Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Spray and Combustion Dynamics.
Dr Saeed Kayhanian
Academic Clinical Fellow in Neurosurgery at Cambridge University Hospitals, Fellow at Fitzwilliam College
I am an Academic Clinical Fellow in Neurosurgery at Cambridge University Hospitals. I studied Medicine at Fitzwilliam, with a Part II in Engineering. I teach anatomy and physiology to medical and natural sciences students. I also supervise Fitzwilliam clinical medical students. My research interests are around brain injury and understanding the neuroinflammatory response to injury. -
Dr John Fawcett
Churchill College, University of Cambridge
Since completing his PhD, John Fawcett has been working in industry alongside lecturing, tutoring, supervising and directing studies in Computer Science at Cambridge. Over more than 15 years, John has seen around 500 students through to graduation.
Dr Richard Dyball
Emeritus Reader in Hypothalmic Electrophysiology, Department of Physiology, Development & Neuroscience, Emeritus Fellow at Clare College
Before retirement I worked on the endocrine hypothalamus. The commonly held view is that the brain is the organ of the body that you think with but it does a great deal more than this. The hypothalamus is important because it takes care of the regulation of metabolism, blood pressure, body temperature and many other functions that you do not have to think about. I also taught physiology and contributed to an early version of a physiology curriculum designed for medical students (see (Medical-curriculum.pdf (physoc.org)). For many years I have also maintained an active interest in the teaching of anatomy (including veterinary anatomy). My lasting legacy to anatomy teaching in Cambridge was in the introduction of the routine use of prosections to teach areas of anatomy that are not easy for students to dissect.
Dr Vasileios Kotsidis
College Assistant Professor, St Catharine's College, University of Cambridge
Vasileios obtained his PhD in Economics at the University of Nottingham. His doctorate explored some theoretical aspects of social (strategic) behaviour and investigated its empirical manifestations. Vasileios is a Director of Studies in Economics.
Sample Schedule
Mathematics for the Natural Sciences
Date: 31st July to 11th August
| Time | Monday to Friday |
| Week 1 | Differential Equations 1 Using physics we introduce the need to use differential equations with some simple examples – possibly including systems of differential equations in nuclear decay Integration 1 A very flexible day on integration – it will serve as a recap and extension for those who have done a lot of integration and as an introduction for those who have not seen integration before Integration 2 Harder physical problems call for harder integrals – we will examine a few examples that require trigonometry Differential equations 2 Simple harmonic oscillator physics will call for a different style of solution Differential equations 3 Some examples of differential equations in Chemistry and Earth Sciences, both first and second order |
| Week 2 | Numerical Integration Introducing the students to Matlab (or equivalent) with some simple examples Introduction to multivariable calculus If we need to describe physical phenomena, we need to be able to express quantities in more than one dimension – we will focus on definitions and simple applications of div, grad, curl Integration 3 We will introduce simple forms of multivariable integration (surface, volume, centre of mass) Differential equations 4 Very simple examples of physics that requires the use of multivariable differential equations Final presentation |
*Office hours: Thursday 3rd Aug & Thursday 10th August, 8 pm
Elements of Mathematical Finance
Date: 17th July – 28th July
| Date | Monday to Friday |
| Week 1 | Elements of Mathematics I and II These lectures introduce students to fundamental concepts of mathematics that have useful applications in finance. Elements of Statistics I and II These lectures provide the statistical foundations necessary for the analysis of financial processes and relations. Rational Choice Theory I This lecture introduces a formal theory of choice and examine some applications in financial transactions. |
| Week 2 | Rational Choice Theory II This lecture introduces a formal theory of choice and examine some applications in financial transactions. Dynamic Choice This lecture discusses formal choice in a temporal setting and examines financial decisions with varying time-horizons. Arbitrage and Expected Utility This lecture investigates arbitrage opportunities with reference to the aforementioned formal theory of choice, as well as the underlying statistical structure that gives rise to them. Stochastic Dominance This lecture discusses conditions under which certain financial options outperform others, with reference to some key statistical properties. Final Presentation |
*Office hours: Thursday 20th and Thursday 27th July, 8 pm.
Special Relativity and Quantum Mechanics
Date: 31st July to 11th August
| Time | Monday to Friday |
| Week 1 | The Lorentz Transformation We highlight the successes and difficulties of the pre-relativistic physics. The latter was very effective in predicting, for instance, the motion of the planets, but Einstein noticed what appeared to be an inconsistency between Newton’s dynamics and Maxwell’s electromagnetism. This led him to propose a new physical theory and a new transformation law for the coordinates of the same event in two different reference frames. Different observers may assign different times to the same event, a curious feature of what became known as the Lorentz transformation. Relativistic Kinematics The fact that time flows at different rates in different systems of reference has interesting consequences. We shall follow a fast moving interstellar spaceship and compare the magnitudes of time intervals, distances and velocities measured by those in the ship with the corresponding measurements made by observers at rest. In this context, we shall examine in detail the well-known Twin Paradox. Relativistic Dynamics We introduce the notions of relativistic momentum and energy and study some examples of the conversion of mass into energy and vice-versa. We derive the famous formula E=mc^2 and explore its implications in some physical systems. Relativistic Optics The Doppler effect and the aberration of light were known phenomena in non-relativistic physics. We shall assess how Relativity modifies the classic formulas and explore some of the consequences of these changes. Appearance of rapidly moving objects When taking a photograph of a moving object, all rays generated at its boundaries arrive simultaneously at the camera. If the object has a non-negligible size, light rays must then leave its surface at different times. In most instances this causes a significant distortion on the appearance of objects that move at speeds close to the speed of light. However, perhaps surprisingly, some objects keep their shape in the photographs. |
| Week 2 | The historical development of Quantum Mechanics The first quarter of the twentieth century is often regarded as one of the most productive periods in the history of science. We shall study the ideas of Planck, de Broglie, Heisenberg, Schrodinger, and others which culminated in 1925-1926 with the formulation of the Quantum Theory. The postulates of Quantum Mechanics and simple applications We introduce the notion of wave function, quantised energy levels and solve Schrodinger’s equation for simple systems. We discuss how the equation can be applied to more complicated systems such as the hydrogen atom. The EPR paradox and the Bohr-Einstein debate The new ideas were not accepted without reluctance by some, among them Einstein. In 1935, together with Podolsky and Rosen, he wrote an article in which an apparent paradox suggested that the formulation of Quantum Mechanics was incomplete. We shall discuss their reasoning and the more modern version of the paradox due to Bohm. Bell’s Inequality Almost 30 years after the EPR argument was formulated, Bell wrote what has been described as one of the most important scientific works of the 20th century, in which it was shown that Quantum Mechanics could not be completed with the so-called hidden variables. We shall have a good discussion of Bell’s theorem and some of its variants, namely due to d’Espagnat. Final Presentation |
*Office hours: Thursday 3rd Aug & Thursday 10th August, 8 pm
Engineering: Sustainable Vehicles
Date: 17th July – 28th July
| Time | Monday to Friday |
| Week 1 | Engineering and Innovation
Sustainability and Life cycle assessment
Vehicle Dynamics
Hydrodynamics forces
Internal Combustion Engines
|
| Week 2 | Fuels and emissions
Electrification of cars
Future car concepts
Ethics and Intellectual property
Final Presentation |
* Office hours: Thursday 20th and Thursday 27th July, 8 pm.
Computer Sciencce
Date: 17th July – 28th July
| Time | Monday to Friday |
| Week 1 | Computer Architecture The components inside a computer and styles of interacting with them. Programmed I/O. Interrupts. DMA. Operating Systems 1 Yirtual memory for protection between processes. Address translation. Hardware acceleration. Operating Systems 2 Cooperative and preemptive multi-tasking. Scheduling algorithms. Starting Processes System calls, fork(), the shell. Interprocess Communications Understanding Unix pipes, marshalling datatypes into bytes. |
| Week 2 | Network communication Sockets, server applications, a simple webserver Graphics 1 Ray-tracing,Phong shading, imperfect and perfect reflections. Graphics 2 Triangularisation, Painters’ Algorithm, Z-Buffers. Graphics 3 & GPUs and accelerators Ttexture maps, bump mapping, displacement mapping. Contrasting CPU pipelines with GPUs, understanding vectorizable workloads, OpenGL/CUDA coding. Final presentation |
*Office hours: Tuesday 18th July and Tuesday 25th July, 8 pm.
Supramolecular Chemistry
Date: 24th July – 4th August
| Time | Monday to Friday |
| Week 1 | Introduction to supramolecular chemistry Explore the exciting field of supramolecular chemistry through an introduction to key design principles, including chelate, macrocyclic, cryptate effect, cooperativity, and solvation effects Synthesis of supramolecules/supramolecular synthons Explore various non-covalent interactions used by supramolecular chemists to link molecules, including electrostatics, hydrogen bonding, π-interactions, and van der Waals forces. Introduce common reactions used to make supramolecular synthons, including the 2022 Nobel Prize-winning click reaction. Explore Host-Guest interactions Discuss host-guest recognition in supramolecular chemistry, including the design principles behind cation, anion, and neutral guest recognition. Learn about the impact and significance of this field, as exemplified by the Nobel Prize in Chemistry awarded in 1987. Characterising Host-Guest complexes Learn about various techniques, including NMR, UV, and fluorescence spectroscopy, used to identify and analyse the structural and dynamic properties of host-guest complexes. |
| Week 2 | Self-assembly of molecular structures Discuss the process of self-assembly, where large supramolecular structures are formed/organised through non-covalent interactions, with a focus on examples found in nature such as DNA. Synthesis and applications of molecular machines Discuss the 2016 Nobel Prize in Chemistry and the various techniques used to synthesize molecular machines and their applications. Uncovering the inspiration for chemistry A Q&A session to explore students' motivations for pursuing chemistry, discuss inspiring stories of researchers and their impactful discoveries and give an insight into a life of a chemist. Final Presentation |
*Office hours: Thursday 27th July and Thursday 3rd Aug, 19.30 pm.
Microbiology & Microbial Genetics
Date: 24th July – 4th August
| Time | Monday to Friday |
| Week 1 | Intro Microbiology Introduces students to the microbial world and its diversity. Intro Pathogens Introducing students to the main types of pathogens. Transmission & Prevention Methods that are used for pathogen transmission (how do they make us sick?) and approaches for infection prevention. The Immune System The role of our immune system in combatting infectious diseases. Antimicrobial Therapies: The range and mechanisms of antimicrobial medications against infectious pathogens. |
| Week 2) | Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) What is it and why is it happening? What is the scale of the problem? Biofilms An overview of microbial biofilms and their role in infection and AMR. Vaccines Introduction to the principle and mechanisms of vaccines. Microbial Genetics Introduction to the main aspects of microbial genetic (DNA, RNA, replication…etc). Final Presentation |
*Office hours: Thursday 27th July & Thursday 3rd August, 8 pm.
Psychology and Neuroscience
Date: 17th July – 28th July
| Time | Monday to Friday |
| Week 1 | Intro Psychology: Introduction to the fundamentals of Psychology.
Methods: Overview of the methods used in research and applied Psychology. Cognitive Psychology: Theoretical frameworks of how humans think and process information. Experimental Psychology: Experimental approaches to studying mental processes in humans and animals. Cognitive Neuroscience: Studying the brain with neuro-imaging methods and computational approaches, and what it reveals about how the mind works. |
| Week 2 | Visual Perception: How visual information is perceived and processed in the brain: organisation of the visual systems in humans and animals, visual illusions, effects of lesions on visual experience.
Memory: Mechanisms underlying the formation and retrieval of memories: short- versus long-term memory, memory formation, remembering, patient studies. Attention: Attention guides how we perceive the world: theories of attention, selective attention, active perception. Psychopathology: What happens when the brain and behaviour work atypically: examples of mental disorders. Final Presentation |
* Office hours: Wednesday 19th and Wednesday 26th July, 1 pm.
Medicine
Date: 24th July – 4th August
| Time | Monday to Friday |
| Week 1 | Introduction to Physiology: Discussion of hormones and homeostasis, the autonomic nervous system and cardiovascular physiology, all from a pre-clinical perspective.
Physiology and pharmacology of anaesthetics: an exploration of how medication can induce unconsciousness, how we can measure unconsciousness, and how to ensure the patient wakes up. Children are not just small adults!: An introduction to the world of paediatrics and how we treat and prevent infectious diseases in children. The psychological and neural basis of adaptive and maladaptive motivation: Emotion and motivation: Motivation and emotion are critical functions of the brain allowing individuals to enhance their likelihood of survival and passing their genes. The main objective of the session is to gain a better understanding of the neural and psychological mechanisms of motivation and emotion through a critical approach to experimental evidence from a range of methodologies. The psychological and neural basis of adaptive and maladaptive motivation: Addiction: Addiction is a fascinating and devastating disorder of the nervous system. The main objective of the session is to understand the vulnerability factors leading to addiction and how drugs of abuse ’tap in’ to the reward system in the brain to support the initiation of drug use and ultimately the development of compulsive drug-seeking and taking.
|
| Week 2 | Medical Law: a review of the principles of medical law and ethics, and a review of some landmark legal cases covering medical law and human rights.
Rescuing the injured brain: an exploration of current and developing therapies for neurological disease. Transplantation and Beyond: Repairing, regenerating and replacing human organs. Anatomy: The Vocabulary of Medicine: If we cannot describe it, we cannot explain it. How upright posture has affected human anatomy, its advantages and implications for medicine and surgery. Final Presentation |
* Office hours: Monday 24th July, 8 pm; Monday, 31st July, 8 pm; Friday, 28th July, 8 pm; Wednesday, 26th July, 8 pm ; Tuesday, 1st Aug, 8 pm ; Wednesday, 2nd Aug, 7 pm ; Thursday, 3rd Aug, 8 pm
Sample Agenda
| Beijing Time | Monday to Friday | |
| 10:00 - 11:30 | Extracurricular activity lead by bilingual TA | |
| 11:30 - 16:00 | Individual study and assignment | |
| 16:00 - 19:00 | Live Course by Cambridge academics | |
| 20:00 - 21:00 | Office Hour (once a week) | |
* Course schedule may change at the discretion of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge.
— Programme Information —
Application
- Date
- Grade：10 - 12
- Admission quota：10 - 15 high school students for each subject
July 24 - August 4, 2023：Chemistry | Biology | Medicine
July 31 - August 11, 2023：Physics | Mathematics
Requirements
- Method 1：Direct admission if any one of the following conditions is met
- Students who received B or above in ASDAN EPQ can be admitted directly;
- Global or national awards in various science assessments in ASDAN China;
- Individual applicants need to show their English language performance (IELTS level 6.5 or TOEFL 90) and A or above in a related subject; - Method 2：Recommendation letter from an invited teacher (Each teacher can recommend up to two students)
- Method 3：If you do not meet the above criteria, you will be required to do a telephone interview in English with an ASDAN China teacher.
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