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Be inspired
By great guests
At Immerse Education, guest speakers are a core part of the participant experience, offering students the chance to engage with inspirational individuals from a wide range of fields. From acclaimed broadcasters and world-travelling writers to celebrated philosophers and Olympic athletes, these talks aren’t just about listening – they’re designed to spark critical thinking, build confidence, and encourage lively discussion. Participants aren’t passive audiences; they’re invited to question, reflect and debate, making these sessions a vital catalyst for personal and academic growth.
Learn from world-class speakers
Every summer, we are delighted to welcome motivational guest speakers from a variety of inspiring backgrounds.
Kate Atkin
Dr Kate Atkin is an award-winning speaker, author and researcher specialising in the imposter phenomenon – often
mislabelled as “imposter syndrome.
” Drawing on over 25 years of training and coaching experience, she delivers
engaging keynotes, workshops and seminars that help individuals and organisations turn self-doubt into confidence and performance.
Her acclaimed keynote “Success: What Lies Behind the Mask” and her book The Imposter Phenomenon share practical insights from her PhD research into confidence, courage and coping strategies. A former Fellow of the Professional Speaking Association, Kate has worked across sectors worldwide, including finance, technology, public service and education.
Dr Nigel Warburton
Nigel Warburton is a freelance philosopher, writer and podcaster. He is best known as a populariser of philosophy,
being author of a number of books of this genre, but he has also written academic works in esthetics and applied ethics.
He regularly teaches courses on philosophy and art at Tate Modern and writes a monthly column ‘Everyday Philosophy’ for Prospect magazine. He runs a popular philosophy weblog Virtual Philosopher and with David Edmonds regularly podcasts interviews with top philosophers on a range of subjects at Philosophy Bites.
Dr Lynda Shaw
A journey in personal development – how to create your own set of tools to fast track success Dr Lynda Shaw is a cognitive neuroscientist and business psychologist, working with senior leaders and their teams who want to better understand emotional responses of clients and colleagues and harness this power to improve business culture, ensuring job satisfaction in the workplace. Having owned three businesses, including a health club with 2000 members and 20 staff, Dr Lynda Shaw is an entrepreneur and businesswoman. She is also a business psychologist and holds a doctorate in neuroscience, specialising in unconscious processing of emotion and communication.
Beatrix Mészáros
Beatrix is a digital marketing expert with over 15 years of experience, having worked with 100+ global brands including Estée Lauder, NIVEA, and the European Parliament. She founded the agency, Mindea, and relocated to London in 2021 to expand her international career. Her global work includes a five-month stint in Bhutan as a Digital Marketing Master Trainer for the government.
Today, Beatrix helps professionals integrate AI into their marketing through consultancy, masterclasses, and training programmes. A regular speaker at conferences and podcasts, she also teaches at two London colleges, delivering practical, hands-on education in digital and AI marketing.
Sarah Outen
British adventurer Sarah Outen circumnavigated the world by rowing solo between 2011 and 2015. In doing so she became the first person to row from Japan to Alaska and the first woman to have rowed West to East across the Mid-Pacific.
Sarah overcame huge obstacles during this 20,000-mile journey which took her a total of four and a half years. She endured extreme conditions in remote environments, often alone for months at a time.
A typhoon on the North Pacific forced a mid-ocean rescue from
her rowing boat in 2012 and a hurricane on the Atlantic forced an evacuation after 143 days at sea. As part of her journey, she also kayaked some of the most treacherous waterways in the world and cycled across North America during one of the harshest
winters on record.
Simon Hall
Simon Hall created and leads an award-winning course in public speaking, storytelling and writing skills at the University of Cambridge, and runs his own business communication agency, Creative Warehouse.
He has 20 books published, ranging from business and communication to crime fiction. The most recent, Compelling Communication (Cambridge University Press, 2024) accompanies his university course.
Previously, Simon was a BBC Television, Radio and Online News Correspondent for 20 years.
Grace Prendergast
Grace Prendergast is a double Olympian and one of New Zealand’s most decorated rowers. She won gold and silver medals at the Tokyo Olympics, having also competed at Rio 2016.
A five-time world champion and current holder of two worldbest times, she was ranked the world’s top female rower for two consecutive years. Grace also earned victory in the OxfordCambridge Boat Race while completing her Master’s at the University of Cambridge, setting a record time.
Beyond sport, Grace has been appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit and made an Honorary Fellow of Queens’ College, Cambridge, in recognition of her contributions to rowing and leadership.
Abi Oyepitan
Commonwealth Gold and Silver medallist, 2 time Olympian and one of the fastest sprinters Britain has ever produced. Abi Oyepitan is a two-time Olympian and Commonwealth Gold and Silver-winning track and field athlete.
Her retirement from athletics came after participating in London 2012, but this did not diminish her drive to compete and pursue success. Since retirement, she’s gone on to take up new and exciting challenges/adventures, her most recent being the prestigious Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race on board the Great Britain boat as part of the crew on the Clipper Round The World Yacht Race.
Away from the track, Abi graduated from Brunel University with a BSc in Politics and has an MA in Human Rights and Social Rights from City University, London. Since retiring, Abi has also ventured into the world of health and well-being, launching a natural cosmetics brand, which has garnered a cult following and is stocked in Liberty London, Anthropologist and Independent stores throughout the UK.
Dr Keith Siew
Dr Keith Siew is the NASA SciX Ambassador for Biological and Physical Sciences, recognised for his pioneering research in Space Biomedicine, which has been profiled by over 280 news outlets worldwide. He is currently developing a Global Certificate Programme in this field in collaboration with NASA and several leading universities and space agencies.
A Senior Fellow at University College London, Keith also holds visiting scholar positions at Université de Paris and Harvard University. He earned his PhD in medicine from Gonville & Caius College, University of Cambridge, and is trained as a physiologist with subspecialisations in pharmacology and microscopy.
Dara Canavan
Dara Canavan leads Enterprise Success within the Go ToMarket team at OpenAI, where he helps organisations safely and effectively adopt artificial general intelligence (AGI) technologies. His work bridges cutting-edge AI with practical implementation at scale.
He holds a BSc and MSc in Theoretical Physics from Imperial College London and an MBA from Stanford University Graduate School of Business, where he graduated in the top 10% of his class. Dara has previously worked as a Senior Strategy Manager at Deliveroo, a Senior Technical Product Manager at Amazon, and an AI Researcher at Stanford University.
Jody Bragger
Jody Bragger is a biodiversity conservationist, veteran, and award-winning producer. As co-founder of Tellus Conservation, he works to protect the world’s endangered ecosystems by mobilising private-sector funding. Current projects include supporting Ukraine’s national park network during the war and leading one of Africa’s largest ecosystem restoration initiatives.
Before Tellus, Jody had a diverse career in business and defence. He served eight years as a British Army officer in Afghanistan, Somalia, and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, receiving the MSM from the U.S. State Department for services to the twostate solution. As CEO of Midnight Runners, he grew a free
running club into a global sports brand spanning 18 cities on five continents.
Beyond work, he’s passionate about endurance sports and scientific exploration. His projects include the award-winning film Running the Roof (Tajikistan), founding the Mogadishu Marathon in 2016, and leading In Search for Ghosts, an expedition to rediscover a lost tree kangaroo species in West Papua.
What Do Alumni Say?
The Immerse programme has been absolutely brilliant because of all the things I’ve learned in only two weeks. The time went by really quickly! I’ve decided I want to continue to study business management down the line, and the Immerse programme has been really helpful for me to build my understanding of the topic and teach me about aspects of business management I didn’t know before.
I feel I’ve learned a lot at a really high level because the tutors actually teach at Oxford and Cambridge, so they really know what it’s like to be a participant here and they understand what we should know in order to attend university here.
5/5
Saveer S
Academic Insights, Business Management
FAQ
How do you choose guest speakers?
Whilst we have no official policy for selecting guest speakers, our academic team select speakers that will motivate, inspire and enthuse our programme participants. We believe in providing students with a wide variety of opinions, experiences and backgrounds in order to provide a well-rounded and life-changing educational experience.
Will we be able to talk to the guest speaker after the event?
Our guest speakers frequently host a Q&A session at the conclusion of the event and often remain afterwards to engage with participants on a more personal level. We warmly encourage attendees to take advantage of these opportunities to connect with our outstanding speakers and gain further insights.
When are guest speaker slots?
Guest speakers have dedicated spots in the evening. During this 90 minute slot, guest speakers deliver an inspiring talk and hold a Q&A as part of Immerse’s supercurricular offering. Tutors may also invite guests to support with delivering subject-specific guest talks and demonstrations during their teaching hours.
Will I hear from university students?
Yes! Students will also attend Fireside Chats. These are different to Guest Speaker slots, and feature our very own undergraduate mentors as they talk about life at, and the journey to achieving admittance to, our host universities.
Empower Your Child's Future: Meet With Our Programme Consultants
- Gain insights from our team of Oxford and Cambridge University alumni
- Receive tailored advice to match your child's interests and goals
- Access programme guides, subject syllabus and detailed resources
