LMH Oxford Summer Programmes

From self-driving cars and augmented reality to intelligent medical imaging helping doctors identify diseases more quickly, computer vision is a rapidly-growing field within artificial intelligence and machine learning. In this course, students who are already familiar with the key theoretical foundations of artificial intelligence and machine learning will dive deeper into the exciting capabilities of this area of research and its applications.

Deep Unsupervised Learning is an exciting emerging area of research in the field of artificial intelligence and machine learning, in which the goal is to develop systems that can learn from unlabelled data. Such systems closely mimic natural human intelligence by finding patterns in data without instructions on what to look for.

Through predictive text, translation tools, and smart devices natural language processing (NLP) is increasingly a part of our day-to-day lives, and in large language models like Chat-GPT we see the enormous future potential of this exciting area of research. This advanced course examines the theoretical concepts of NLP and its current and potential future application in diverse domains.

How can we see cities and their buildings as a means of understanding history and society? In this course you will examine the everyday built environments of cities in Britain (and beyond). Through careful engagement with architectural history, we can read the planning and development of urban spaces as a reflection of the identities of the social groups who use them.

In our age of burgeoning smart technology and automation we are already seeing the transformative potential of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in fields as diverse as finance, medicine, and manufacturing. This course offers a hands-on introduction to this future-focused area of research.

Perhaps the greatest challenge facing humankind is anthropogenic climate change, the rapid warming of the earth’s temperature driven by the consumption of fossil-fuels and emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. In this course you will explore climate change as a disruptive legal phenomenon, examining how it is understood as a societal issue and how legal systems have responded to it. You will examine the conflicts these responses have generated and the varied potential pathways forward.

Taking its cue from the First Folio (1623), the book that preserved many of Shakespeare’s plays for posterity, the course spends one week on each of the main genres in which the author wrote and introduces students to key questions raised by plays such as The Tempest, Twelfth Night, Richard III, Hamlet, and Othello, among others. Join this course for a deep dive into the world and words of William Shakespeare with some of the world's most prominent researchers in the field.

How does the brain process information, make decisions, and learn? Computational Psychologists seek to answer these questions by using algorithms and mathematical models to simulate and analyse the mechanisms behind mental processes. The field has been highly influential on Artificial Intelligence research and development, as data scientists attempt to convincingly recreate human thought, speech, and behaviour in machines, a challenge Alan Turing called the ‘Imitation Game’. Introducing Computational Psychology, Computational Neuroscience, and AI, this course offers a fascinating insight into these exciting and forward-looking interconnected fields of research.

What are the causes of the vast differences in wealth between nations? Why have certain societies prospered whilst others still grapple with poverty? Will inequality between the developed and developing worlds be permanent? This course addresses these questions, allowing you to understand today's global economy through a historical perspective.

While the world has been moving increasingly towards greater inter-connectivity through trade, infrastructure, communications, and migration, criticism of ‘globalisation’ has been growing ever louder, with many blaming it for inequality, cultural marginalisation, and political disaffection. Through the lenses of philosophy, politics, and economics this course will explore these competing dynamics and equip you to understand some of the most significant political phenomena of our time.

While clinical medicine deals with the health of the individual, public health is concerned with the health of the population. The UK Faculty of Public Health defines public health as “the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting health through the organised efforts of society.” The recent COVID-19 pandemic acutely underscored the key functions public health professionals play in considering, designing, implementing, and evaluating interventions at the population level. If you are interested in thinking about complex problems touching all aspects of society, or are considering a career in public health, medicine, or public policy, this course can provide a valuable starting point in your journey.

Knowledge of the subject of International Law is vital, not just to those who hope to become lawyers, but to anyone who intends to be a well-informed citizen. The course begins with an introduction to international law as a discipline. We will consider the sources and subjects of international law, and we will explore the settlement of international disputes and enforcement of international law, including in relation to human rights. We will discuss international legal institutions such as the United Nations Security Council, the International Court of Justice, the International Law Commission, and the International Criminal Court.