Daily schedule
After registration on Sunday afternoon, we invite you to a welcome meeting in the Amersi Lecture Theatre in New Quad, where you will meet your tutors. Join us in Deer Park afterwards for our opening drinks reception, followed by dinner in Brasenose’s historic dining hall (informal dress).
Seminars take place on weekday mornings. Most afternoons are free, allowing you time to explore Oxford, enjoy a variety of optional social events (see details below), or to sit back and relax in one of the college's atmospheric quads.
Your course culminates on Friday evening with a closing drinks reception and gala farewell dinner at which Certificates of Attendance are awarded. For this special occasion smart dress is encouraged (no requirement to wear dinner suits or gowns).
Social programme
We warmly invite all Inspiring Oxford students to take part in our optional social programme, with all events provided at no additional cost. Events are likely to include:
- Croquet on the quad
- Chauffeured punting from Magdalen Bridge
- Expert-led walking tours of Oxford
- Optional visit to an Oxford Library or the Ashmolean Museum
- River Thames afternoon cruise
- Quiz night in the college bar
- Scottish country dance evening (where you do the dancing!)
Seminars
Monday
The Evolution of Espionage: From Cloak and Dagger to Code and Data
Your week opens with a sweeping journey through the history of espionage, tracing its evolution from the shadowy intrigues of ancient empires to the algorithmic complexity of the digital age. We will explore how human intelligence (HUMINT) relies on recruitment, motivation, deception, and the subtle dance of double agents. We also delve into the anatomy of the intelligence cycle, revealing how information gathered in the field transforms into analysis and, ultimately, policy. As new frontiers such as AI, quantum computing, and open-source intelligence reshape the craft, we grapple with the central question: is espionage an act of aggression, or simply statecraft by other means?
Our day concludes with an immersive simulation, The Mole Hunt, where small groups investigate a fictional insider threat, testing their analytic instincts and teamwork skills.
Tuesday
The Logic of Espionage: Why Nations Spy
Today, we examine the rationale behind espionage through the lens of international relations theory. You will consider how realism, constructivism, and other frameworks explain why nations collect secrets and how intelligence supports grand strategy. The discussion moves from the economics of information (knowledge as power) to comparative studies of U.S., Russian, and Chinese doctrines, highlighting how different states integrate espionage into foreign policy. The private sector’s expanding role as a frontline of national security adds a contemporary dimension.
Today, we also hear from two online guest speakers include David Shedd, a former senior U.S. intelligence official, who discusses strategic intelligence and counterespionage policy, and a corporate security executive who explains how companies defend trade secrets in a world of relentless data theft.
Wednesday
The China Model: Espionage as State Strategy
Midweek, we turn the spotlight on China’s approach to intelligence as an instrument of state power. We take you inside the Ministry of State Security and related agencies to understand how espionage underpins national ambitions like Made in China 2025, and technological supremacy. Through detailed case studies (including Huawei, the Thousand Talents Programme, and incidents of Western corporate infiltration) you will uncover the structure of China’s covert networks, from cyber operators to academic partnerships.
A case workshop invites you to dissect real-world operations, analysing motives, methods, and consequences. The day’s discussion challenges Western assumptions, asking whether China’s patient, networked, and systemic espionage marks a departure from the Cold War paradigm, and what that means for the future balance of power.
Thursday
Cyber Espionage and the Weaponisation of Data
Our focus today shifts to the digital battlefield as we invite you to explore the rise of cyber intelligence (CYBINT) where hacking, phishing, and data exfiltration are tools of statecraft. We examine the role of cyber operations in countries such as Russia, Iran, and North Korea, unpacking landmark cases like Stuxnet, SolarWinds, and NotPetya. Emerging technologies (AI-driven attacks, deepfakes, and quantum codebreaking) are discussed as forces transforming espionage into something both more pervasive and more ambiguous.
Friday
Protecting Secrets: Counterespionage, Academia, and the Future
On our final day we turn to defence, and consider how democracies can safeguard their secrets in an era of pervasive surveillance and global competition.
You will explore how universities, laboratories, and corporations have become prime targets for state-sponsored intelligence and how governments and the private sector cooperate to counter these threats. Policy tools, ranging from sanctions and prosecutions to export controls and information security laws, are examined alongside the ethical tensions between transparency, innovation, and national interest.
Our course concludes with a reflective synthesis on how espionage, once confined to the shadows, now shapes the open and interconnected world of the 21st century.
