The AKC Course in 2025/6
The AKC programme is comprised of two separate lecture series. This year all of the AKC lectures will first be delivered in-person on the dates listed below in the Safra Lecture Theatre on the Strand Campus. However, if you wish to follow the AKC programme online then you can access the course material via our KEATS page. Each lecture will be released on the KEATS page one week after it is delivered in person. For example, Lecture 1, which will be delivered at 12:00 midday on Monday 06 October on campus, will be released at 12:00 midday (UK time) on Monday 13 October on our KEATS page. The KEATS quizzes will open on the day of the live lecture and will close at 12:00 midday three weeks later. For example, the quiz for Lecture 1 will open at 12:00 midday on Monday 06 October and will close at 12:00 midday (UK time) on Monday 27 October.
Below you can find the outline of the 2025/6 AKC lecture series.
All AKC lectures are delivered from the perspective of the academic delivering them and do not represent an official position of King’s College London. These lectures often explore contentious subjects and viewpoints and we welcome constructive debate at these events.
Semester 1: 2025/6
Rethinking Thinking: Bodies, Minds, and Machines in the Modern World, curated by Dr Edward David
Re-thinking Thinking reimagines the nature of thought through a multi-disciplinary lens, exploring how we think—from our very bodies to artificial intelligence and beyond. This series begins by considering the university’s role as a space for thinking and then embarks on a journey through exciting domains of knowledge. From gut health to the ethics of AI, we’ll explore how cognitive processes shape our decisions and impact human existence. At the end of the series, we’ll return to the person, focusing on the deepest kind of thinking—spiritual thought—as we ask what it means to think with purpose. Drawing on medicine, technology, and more, this series will critically examine the ethics of cognition and the moral responsibilities that come with it.
Monday 06 Oct 2025 – Dr Edward David, King’s College London, Why Re-think Thinking?
Monday 13 Oct 2025 – Professor Shitij Kapur, Vice-Chancellor & President, Re-thinking the Purpose of the University
Monday 20 Oct 2025 – Professor Elizabeth Black, King’s College London, Re-thinking Machine Learning Models
Monday 27 Oct 2025 – Professor Tim Spector, King’s College London, Re-thinking Gut and Brain Health
Monday 3 Nov 2025 – READING WEEK (No live lecture)
Monday 10 Nov 2025 – Dr Martin Compton, King’s College London, Re-thinking Human Learning in the Age of AI
Monday 17 Nov 2025 – Dr Stacey Bedwell , King’s College London, Re-thinking Brain Development
Monday 24 Nov 2025 – Professor Ben Carter and Dr Nicola Kalk, King’s College London, Re-thinking Our Smartphone Usage
Monday 1 Dec 2025 – Dr Karen O'Brien-Kop, King’s College London, Re-thinking Mind and Body
Monday 8 Dec 2025 – Dr King-Ho Leung, King’s College London, Re-thinking Spirituality and Purpose
Semester 2: 2025/6
London Unfolding: Creativity, Challenge, and Change, curated by Dr Daniel Nilsson DeHanas
London Unfolding invites you to explore the vitality of one of the world’s most dynamic cities. Drawing on leading research from King’s College London and beyond, this AKC lecture series follows the life of our city — beginning with London’s creative pulse, moving through its social and political challenges, and ending with the forces of transformation that shape its future. From Spitalfields to South London, Shakespeare to the Windrush generation, musical invention to medical innovation, each lecture offers fresh insight into how London lives, resists, and evolves. Join us to see the city anew — and discover your place within its unfolding story.
Mon 19 Jan 2026 – Dr Daniel Nilsson DeHanas, King’s College London, A London Microcosm? Spitalfields, from Huguenots to Hipsters
Mon 26 Jan 2026 – Dr Ayshah Johnston, Black Cultural Archives, Windrush and the Black Cultural Archives
Mon 2 Feb 2026 – Jasvir Singh CBE, City Sikhs, South Asian London
Mon 9 Feb 2026 – tbc
Mon 16 Feb 2026 – tbc
Mon 23 Feb 2026 – READING WEEK (No live lecture)
Mon 2 March 2026 – Dr Joanne Entwistle, King's College London, Fashion in London
Mon 9 March 2026 – Dr Jack Brown, King’s College London, The London Problem
Mon 16 March 2026 – Professor Simon Howell, King’s College London, South London as a Centre of Medical Innovation
Mon 23 March 2026 – Professor Anand Menon, King’s College London, London’s Future in a Changing Europe
See our sample lectures, including previous AKC lectures