Events

Cultural Dinner: Lunar New Year

Thursday 12 February 2026 (Week 4)

18:45 - 21:00, Reuben College Dining Hall

Beginning on Tuesday, February 17, 2026, The Lunar New Year celebrates the beginning of the lunisolar year and welcomes a season of renewal, family, and prosperity. Join us for an evening filled with vibrant performances, cultural dishes, and storytelling as we usher in a new year together. This year is the Year of the Horse. Guests are warmly encouraged to wear red and/or traditional attire.

The evening meal will be set in a traditional buffet style. 

Please click which option you would like between meat or vegetarian options from the buffet and please note any dietary requirements. 

2025-26 Prices

Reuben Student: £15

Student Guest: £18

Non-Student Guest: £20

Reuben Alumni: £20

Tickets and guest tickets can only be booked by Reuben members and guests must attend the event with a Reuben member.

Full terms and conditions can be found here.

Please read before booking place at event. 

Cultural Dinner: Women's History Month

Thursday 5 March 2026 (Week 7)

18:45 - 21:00, Reuben College Dining Hall

Every March, Women’s History Month allows us to reflect on the extraordinary achievements and enduring impact of women throughout history. Through a curated dinner celebrating flavours and stories from around the world, we welcome you to join us in honouring the collective strength, passion, and perseverance of women. Formal attire encouraged.

The evening meal will be set in a traditional buffet style. 

Please click which option you would like between meat or vegetarian options from the buffet and please note any dietary requirements. 

2025-26 Prices

Reuben Student: £15

Student Guest: £18

Non-Student Guest: £20

Reuben Alumni: £20

Tickets and guest tickets can only be booked by Reuben members and guests must attend the event with a Reuben member.

Full terms and conditions can be found here.

Please read before booking place at event. 

Formal Hall: Week 3

5 February 2026

18:45 - 21:00, Reuben College Dining Hall 

Formal Hall (sometimes known as 'Guest Night' at other colleges) offers a chance to get together with friends and colleagues to enjoy a beautifully prepared meal and get dressed up. Members are welcome to invite up to a max of 5 paying guests. 

Menu

Starter

Walnut, Beetroot and Feta Salad with Red Sorrel and White Balsamic 

Vegetarian Main Option

Tomato and Thyme Stuffed Mushroom with Fondant Potato, Vegetable Pisto, Purple Sprouting

Meat Main Option

Tomato & Thyme Stuffed Chicken with Fondant Potato, Vegetable Pisto, Purple Sprouting  

Dessert

Lemon & Mascarpone Tart

2025-26 Prices

Reuben Student: £25

Student Guest: £28

Non-Student Guest: £30

Reuben Alumni: £30

Tickets and guest tickets can only be booked by Reuben members and guests must attend the event with a Reuben member. 

Full terms and conditions can be found here.

Please read before booking place at event. 

Formal Hall: Week 5

19 February 2026

18:45 - 21:00, Reuben College Dining Hall 

Formal Hall (sometimes known as 'Guest Night' at other colleges) offers a chance to get together with friends and colleagues to enjoy a beautifully prepared meal and get dressed up. Members are welcome to invite up to a max of 5 paying guests. 

Menu

Starter

Vegetable Ramen with Soy Marinated Tofu 

Vegetarian Main Option

XO Glazed Aubergine with Kimchi and Japanese Pancake  

Meat Main Option

Soy & Mirin Marinated Chicken Fillet with Steamed Rice and Kimchi 

Dessert

Kasutera with Caramel

2025-26 Prices

Reuben Student: £25

Student Guest: £28

Non-Student Guest: £30

Reuben Alumni: £30

Tickets and guest tickets can only be booked by Reuben members and guests must attend the event with a Reuben member.

Full terms and conditions can be found here.

Please read before booking place at event. 

Formal Hall: Week 6

26 February 2026

18:45 - 21:00, Reuben College Dining Hall 

Formal Hall (sometimes known as 'Guest Night' at other colleges) offers a chance to get together with friends and colleagues to enjoy a beautifully prepared meal and get dressed up. Members are welcome to invite up to a max of 5 paying guests. 

Menu

Starter

Cured Charred Celeriac with Pickled Radish, Cherry Tomatoes and Pea Shoots 

Meat Main Option

Confit Guinea Fowl, Celeriac & Apple Puree, Red Cabbage, Pomme Anna Potatoes  

Vegetarian Main Option

Red Onion & Goats Cheese Tart, Crispy Beet Leaves, Red Cabbage, Pomme Anna Potatoes  

Dessert

Sticky Toffee Pudding  

2025-26 Prices

Reuben Student: £25

Student Guest: £28

Non-Student Guest: £30

Reuben Alumni: £30

Tickets and guest tickets can only be booked by Reuben members and guests must attend the event with a Reuben member.

Full terms and conditions can be found here.

Please read before booking place at event. 

Formal Hall: Week 8

12 March 2026

18:45 - 21:00, Reuben College Dining Hall 

Formal Hall (sometimes known as 'Guest Night' at other colleges) offers a chance to get together with friends and colleagues to enjoy a beautifully prepared meal and get dressed up. Members are welcome to invite up to a max of 5 paying guests. 

Menu

Starter

Celeriac Velouté with Truffle Oil, Toasted Hazelnuts and Celeriac Crisps 

Vegetarian Main Option

Winter Vegetable Roulade with Artichoke, Chestnuts and Cheddar 

Meat Main Option

Braised Ox Tail with Smoked Mashed Potato, Glazed Heritage Carrots and Kale  

Dessert

Warm Spiced Pear Frangipane 

2025-26 Prices

Reuben Student: £25

Student Guest: £28

Non-Student Guest: £30

Reuben Alumni: £30

Tickets and guest tickets can only be booked by Reuben members and guests must attend the event with a Reuben member.

Full terms and conditions can be found here.

Please read before booking place at event. 

Tuesday Talks/DwD: Week 2

27 January 2026 

18:20-21:00, Reuben Dining Hall 

Can We Advance Healthspan Effectively and Sustainably with AI?

Generative AI offers unprecedented tools to reshape health, promising to improve outcomes, access, and efficiency by creating new solutions for both patient self-care and clinical practice—a model known as the co-production of health. AI agents are also accelerating opportunities for start-ups to bring new innovations to market at an unprecedented pace. We will explore how these can align with global goals to advance healthspan. However, the massive energy and data infrastructure required to train and run these advanced models create a significant, often overlooked, environmental footprint. We will close with a discussion of a framework for evaluating AI health solutions that prioritize both human and planetary well-being.

Menu

Vegetarian Option

Hunters Cauliflower, Julienne Fries, Spiced Corn  

Meat Option

Hunters Chicken, Julienne Fries, Spiced Corn  

Dessert

Pineapple Upside-down Cake  

2025-26 Prices

Reuben Student and Reuben Fellow: Free of charge

Student Guest: £18

Non-Student Guest: £20

Reuben Alumni: £20

College Hospitality: Free of charge

Tickets and guest tickets can only be booked by Reuben members, guests must attend the talk with a Reuben member.

Full terms and conditions can be found here. 

Please read before booking place at event.

Tuesday Talks/DwD: Week 3

3 February 2026 

18:20-21:00, Reuben Dining Hall 

A Life of Pain and Pleasure

Our University Vice-Chancellor, Professor Irene Tracey, will describe her research as a pain neuroscientist and the broader field of human neuroimaging. She will also discuss her various leadership roles and the pleasure she derives from supporting the University of Oxford’s academic mission.

Menu

Vegetarian Option

Soy and Lentil Cottage Pie, Green Beans 

Meat Option

Cottage Pie, Green Beans 

Dessert

Apple and Pear Crumble    

2025-26 Prices

Reuben Student and Reuben Fellow: Free of charge

Student Guest: £18

Non-Student Guest: £20

Reuben Alumni: £20

College Hospitality: Free of charge

Tickets and guest tickets can only be booked by Reuben members, guests must attend the talk with a Reuben member.

Full terms and conditions can be found here. 

Please read before booking place at event.

Tuesday Talks/DwD: Week 4

10 February 2026 

18:20-21:00, Reuben Dining Hall 

Why Your Food Choice Matters – The Super Wicked Problem of Food System Change

Our food system is in urgent need of transformation. While over 800million people go to bed hungry every night, every country in the world is facing rising obesity numbers. At the same time agriculture is at the heart of the climate, water and biodiversity crisis while also having to adapt to environmental change impacts. But the food sector is nevertheless one of the key job providers and an ‘engine of the growth’ for most countries. How to change this globally connected, incredibly complex system that we are all a part of to develop an environmentally friendly, just and economically sound system that provides healthy diets? Prof Monika Zurek, lead of the Food System Transformation Group at the Environmental Change Institute based in SoGE, will dive into the key food system challenges we face today and how system thinking and foresight tools are currently being employed to develop new ideas for dealing with the super wicked problem of food system change. And together with members of our college catering company we will discuss how each of us can help, simply by changing what we eat.

To attend the dinner, you must attend the prior seminar. 

Menu

Vegetarian Option

Tempura Vegetable Sandwich, Chips, Tartare Sauce    

Meat Option

Fish Finger Sandwich, Chips, Tartare Sauce  

Dessert

Cookie Crumble  

2025-26 Prices

Reuben Student and Reuben Fellow: Free of charge

Student Guest: £18

Non-Student Guest: £20

Reuben Alumni: £20

College Hospitality: Free of charge

Tickets and guest tickets can only be booked by Reuben members, guests must attend the talk with a Reuben member.

Full terms and conditions can be found here. 

Please read before booking place at event.

Tuesday Talks/DwD: Week 5

17 February 2026 

18:20-21:00, Reuben Dining Hall 

Student Takeover

Join us for presentations from our Reuben students on their own varied research projects. Details on the topics and presenters will come during term.

To attend the dinner, you must attend the prior seminar. 

Menu

Vegetarian Option

Reuben Fried Plant Based Chicken, Seasoned Fries, Reuben Gravy, Slaw  

Meat Option

Reuben Fried Chicken, Seasoned Fries, Reuben Gravy, Slaw  

Dessert

Custard Doughnuts    

2025-26 Prices

Reuben Student and Reuben Fellow: Free of charge

Student Guest: £18

Non-Student Guest: £20

Reuben Alumni: £20

College Hospitality: Free of charge

Tickets and guest tickets can only be booked by Reuben members, guests must attend the talk with a Reuben member.

Full terms and conditions can be found here.

Please read before booking place at event.

Tuesday Talks/DwD: Week 6

24 February 2026 

18:20-21:00, Reuben Dining Hall

The Case for Climate Reparations

In 2025, the International Court of Justice -- known as the World Court -- issued a landmark decision on climate change in its biggest ever case, making clear that countries need to rapidly cut emissions to reduce warming to 1.5C. The Court also held that if countries fail to act, they could be liable to pay reparations.

In this lecture, Harj Narulla, Visiting Fellow at Reuben College and a leading global expert in climate litigation, will draw on his experience as counsel for Solomon Islands before the ICJ to map out the case for climate reparations.

To attend the dinner, you must attend the prior seminar. 

Menu

Main

Plant Based Burger, Sweet Potato Wedges, Vegan Slaw

Dessert

Vegan Chocolate Caramel Brownie

Please note, this event will be serving a vegetarian-only menu

2025-26 Prices

Reuben Student and Reuben Fellow: Free of charge

Student Guest: £18

Non-Student Guest: £20

Reuben Alumni: £20

College Hospitality: Free of charge

Tickets and guest tickets can only be booked by Reuben members, guests must attend the talk with a Reuben member.

Full terms and conditions can be found here. 

Please read before booking place at event.

Tuesday Talks/DwD: Week 7

3 March 2026 

18:20-21:00, Reuben Dining Hall 

Frankenstein's Babies

The prospect of designing our children using gene editing is getting ever closer. Many pressing ethical questions about these developments are mirrored in dystopian fiction including "Frankenstein" and "Brave New World".

What does our desire for control say about our society? Is fair access to gene editing possible? Can we maximise both happiness and authenticity for future people? Come along to discuss with Research Fellow, Dr Tess Johnson.

To attend the dinner, you must attend the prior seminar. 

Menu

Vegetarian Option

Mixed Bean Chilli, Mexican Style Rice, Tortilla Chips 

Meat Option

Chilli Pork Verde, Mexican Style Rice, Tortilla Chips 

Dessert

Churros with Chocolate Sauce   

2025-26 Prices

Reuben Student and Reuben Fellow: Free of charge

Student Guest: £18

Non-Student Guest: £20

Reuben Alumni: £20

College Hospitality: Free of charge

Tickets and guest tickets can only be booked by Reuben members, guests must attend the talk with a Reuben member.

Full terms and conditions can be found here. 

Please read before booking place at event.

Tuesday Talks/DwD: Week 8

10 March 2026 

18:20-21:00, Reuben Dining Hall 

AI and Human Empowerment

Technology makes us wealthier, healthier, and more knowledgeable. But does it help us live richer and more fulfilling lives? Prof Chris Summerfield argues the dominant trend over the past 200 years has been for technology to strip people of their personal agency. In this talk, he will discuss this contention in the context of the 21st century AI revolution, and ask how we can train models to empower, rather than disempower, people.

To attend the dinner, you must attend the prior seminar. 

Menu

Vegetarian Option

Vegetable Schnitzel, Creamed Mushroom Sauce, Fries    

Meat Option

Turkey Schnitzel, Creamed Mushroom Sauce, Fries  

Dessert

Apple Strudel  

2025-26 Prices

Reuben Student and Reuben Fellow: Free of charge

Student Guest: £18

Non-Student Guest: £20

Reuben Alumni: £20

College Hospitality: Free of charge

Tickets and guest tickets can only be booked by Reuben members, guests must attend the talk with a Reuben member.

Full terms and conditions can be found here. 

Please read before booking place at event.