The College aims to ensure that students are able to make the most of the experience of studying and living in Cambridge. Students take part in activities which run alongside the Diploma to help provide valuable transferable skills, both academic and extra-curricular. These include:
Supervisions A programme of regular supervisions offers individual support to hone and strengthen students’ academic writing and analytical skills. One-to-one informal meetings with the programme’s Academic Director and group discussions with Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad are also offered.
Communication Skills Work is done throughout the first two terms to help improve communication skills. The course also covers public speaking and working with the media.
Literacy Skills The students are introduced to Great Books in English Literature, from the 16th century to the present. This familiarises them with important literary works and introduces them to the various ways in which such texts can be read.
Life Skills The programme may cover areas such as writing skills, time management, financial management, CV-writing and first aid skills.
Exercise The College recognises the importance of balancing mental activity with physical, and offers an opportunity for weekly exercise. Male students often pursue football, while for females a Tai Chi class is held at the College.
Hifz Weekly classes for males and females allow the students to practice and build on their memorisation of Qu’ran and hadith. The classes, taught usually in Arabic, also keep their languages skills current.
Teaching Trips
As well as learning in the classroom, students benefit from a programme of teaching trips designed both to broaden their learning and to relate their study directly to its application in their communities. The trips present examples of excellence and innovation already at work in community development, religious leadership, inter-faith dialogue, and other relevant areas. The programme of trips has included:
- Muslim History Tour of London
- Shah Jahan Mosque and Brookwood Cemetry
- Willowbrook Farm
- Holkham Bay (Norfolk)
- The House of Commons
- The Guardian
- The Prince’s School of Traditional Arts
- Greenwich Observatory
- The British Library
An extended annual trip is organised to experience first-hand the history of faith on the European continent. The trip is usually based in Rome, and includes lectures and discussions, visits to the Roman Forum, Palatine Hill and Coliseum, the Vatican Museum, St Peter’s and the Sistine Chapel, meetings with various monastic communities and lunch with the British Ambassador.
