Michael Hobley

MEng Engineering Science 2014
DPhil Engineering Science 2018

Michael has always been interested in how things work and how to get people to work together. He has combined these interests at Keble through research and teaching in Engineering as well as competition and coaching in rowing.

Michael came to Keble from a comprehensive school in Leeds and focused his MEng on questions about whether computers can perform creative and analytical tasks usually thought to be uniquely human. His First-Class Honours degree concluded with a thesis, since published, which established that computers can create unique garments through a nuanced understanding of the style and structure of clothing. His DPhil shows that they can learn the abstract concept of counting, enumerating objects of novel types in changing environments without direct instruction. In each case, understanding how a computer performs a task sheds light on how humans understand the world.

After rowing casually at Bradford Amateur Rowing Club, Michael joined the Keble College Boat Club to have a hobby to complement his studies. With encouragement from his coach, John Redos, to take it more seriously and to cultivate the motivational and explanatory skills essential to helping a crew achieve their shared goals, he went on to achieve Headship at Summer Eights as coxswain and president of KCBC. In 2019, he coxed the Osiris boat for OUWBC at the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Races. Michael then transitioned to coaching, starting with a successful stint as Head Coach of the women at Trinity College before becoming Head Coach at KCBC.

Michael now enjoys teaching others in engineering and rowing at Keble the same skills he is grateful to have learned here.