14 Sep 07

Oxford University's first ever Collegiate University Alumni Weekend kicks off today with a series of events with everything from dinosaurs to dictionaries, to a special degree ceremony.

Between 14-16 September, former students will be offered a packed three-day programme of 110 events. The 'Meeting Minds' programme will be the first University-wide reunion in Oxford's 900-year history. It has attracted more than 720 alumni and their guests, who are travelling from all parts of the UK and across the globe to Oxford. There will be guests of all ages, with alumni who first arrived in Oxford in 1930 mixing with alumni who first arrived in Oxford in 2006. They all welcome the chance to be stimulated by the academic sessions, participate in tours and talks, revisit old haunts and discover new ones.

Alumni and guests will start registering at 10am today at the Sheldonian Quad. Today's programme will include extended tours of the Bodleian Library, including a look at the underground tunnels and passages leading to the bookstack where more than seven million volumes occupy 110 miles of shelving. Other highlights include a guided tour of OUP's Museum with a brief history of the Oxford English Dictionary, a chance to find out what the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU) is doing in places like Borneo and Brazil with a tour of the Unit's facilities at Tubney House, and an opportunity to watch how the University conservators repair the historic collections of books, maps and drawings.

An extraordinary MA degree ceremony will also take place at the Sheldonian Theatre in the afternoon, when alumni who have registered will receive their MAs.

In the evening, alumni will be welcomed personally by the Vice-Chancellor, Dr John Hood, with drinks in the Gothic splendour of the Divinity School. There are then several dinner-date choices to conjure with: alumni can dine at Rhodes House at an event hosted by the Vice-Chancellor; or in Britain's oldest museum with the Ashmolean's expert curators; or if they prefer, they can have dinner in the University Museum of Natural History in the company of dinosaurs and a dodo! Music-lovers might have an appetite for something else altogether - a concert by St Hilda's musicians, which is being held at the College's Jacqueline du Pré Music Building.

A full round-up of the Alumni Weekend events will be available on Monday 17 September with video footage and interviews with alumni on the Alumni Weekend website.