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In the last years of the eighteenth century, an Indian woman authored a work in Persian intended for the entertainment and guidance of students of that language. Entitled Miftāḥ-i Qulūb-i Mubtadiyān (‘The Key of the Hearts of Beginners’), the work comprised of stories from vernacular oral traditions as well as extracts from well-known Persian poetic, historical and ethical works. Although the work was translated into English in 1908 by Annette Beveridge, it has received no serious scholarly attention. Drawing upon recent scholarship offering new ways of thinking about India's multilingual literary past, this article examines the intersection of multiple vernacular and generic traditions as translated and manifested in Miftāḥ-i Qulūb al-Mubtadīyān. While vernacular languages followed different, and in relative terms, more limited routes of circulation and exchange in comparison with cosmopolitan languages such as Persian, their paths of movement were no less significant. Through a close reading of this work and its context, this article seeks to understand how Bībī Ḥashmat al-Daula crafted a distinct, cosmopolitan voice for herself through her deployment of both Persianate and regional Indian traditions.

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Background The profile of brain tumours in the wider community has recently been raised. In this project we explored whether we could link brain tumour awareness with STEM education for secondary school pupils. We aimed to inspire the next generation by bringing research into formal and informal learning contexts. Method We worked with a local school to co-design and co-create a set of blended learning sessions. Each session consisted of some “biological” teaching and a practical activity. These included using IDH, MGMT and 1p/19q as models of varying genetic disorder and a Jenga-based game to teach radiobiology. Sessions were delivered every 1–2 weeks using a multidisciplinary team. We assessed impact through informal weekly feedback, a structured feedback form and linkage to GCSE curriculum items. We assessed costs using a staff-free FEC model. Results We delivered a total of 12 hours over 10 sessions. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive from the students – “The project has been very enlightening and rewarding”. We were able to link 60% of taught material to GCSE curriculum items. We estimated costs (materials) at £260. Students presented their work at the Imperial Science Festival and an additional conference. Discussion We have co-developed and piloted an innovative multi-disciplinary toolkit to use neuro-oncology as a way of teaching STEM subjects, though a pupil-centred approach. We are now seeking to pilot the materials with other neuroscience centres/ universities to support secondary schools and neuroscience centres/ universities in working collectively to create structured, strategic, and sustainable mechanisms for engagement.