BBC RADIO’S ‘Naked Scientist’ Dr Chris Smith, historian David Starkey and economist Sir Nicholas Stern could soon be joining your iPod playlist as Oxbridge makes hundreds of hours of lecture material freely downloadable from iTunes.

BBC RADIO’S ‘Naked Scientist’ Dr Chris Smith, historian David Starkey and economist Sir Nicholas Stern could soon be joining your iPod playlist as Oxbridge makes hundreds of hours of lecture material freely downloadable from iTunes.

Cambridge University is offering over 300 free podcasts and Oxford’s contribution includes 150 hours of academic video content.

Seen as a move to widen access to these elite institutions, broadcasts include tips on writing a personal statement, and getting through the infamous interview process.

There is also no doubt that iTunes provides a vast new marketing tool.

Along with the academic content, Oxford has launched the largest fundraising campaign in European university history with a special download hosted by Michael Palin.

Oxford Vice Chancellor John Hood said, “We hope that this service will make Oxford’s diverse range of audio and video material more widely accessible to applicants, alumni, supporters of the University, and the intellectually curious.”

Downloadable lectures have been available on iTunes from American institutions since early 2007, but it was only earlier this year that UCL and the Open University adopted similar technology in the UK.

In 2006 a philosophy lecturer from the University of Glasgow topped the iTunes education chart with her introduction to Immanuel Kant, available for students and the public to listen to at their leisure.

Lagging somewhat behind, the University of Edinburgh’s website hosts a small selection of audio-visual material from special guest lecturers, but no comprehensive repository.

When asked, the majority of Edinburgh students said that they would really value a listen again facility, feeling it would enable them to get much more out of lectures.

A number however thought that it would discourage them from attending if they knew they could just download the material that they had missed.

Edinburgh has made no comment as to whether it plans to contribute to iTunes.

Student Hugo Merryweather Ross chortled: “I think the scheme’s a great idea but it’s difficult to replace the benefits of being at a lecture in person, as well as being able to consult with other students and the lecturer themselves.

“But to think of all the forests that will be saved by cutting back on the paper used for handouts makes me happy inside.”