While the image of the academic sat in his ivory tower is one that Cambridge is desperate to get rid of, the relationship between the University and the wider public remains unclear. Last week, Mary Beard, professor of Classics, suggested that the divide between town and gown had got starker, while Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury and now Master of Magdalene, argued that increasingly “there is often a pressure to turn first-class academic institutions into second-rate businesses”.

Certainly, the cuts in funding have made universities reconsider new sources of investment. And certainly, there is a lot that can be said about the impact of the University of Cambridge on the local economy. However, Professor Beard’s comments highlighted the distance between the concerns of the University and the day-to-day reality of many locals. It may surprise some to hear that around 2,400 people used the local food bank last year; double the figure of the year before.

Last term King’s become the latest college to agree to pay its entire staff the living wage. Yet, 27 of Cambridge’s 31 colleges still fail to pay its staff £7.65 per hour. The on-going living wage campaign has a hugely important role in closing the gap between town and gown.

Recently, a number of students have felt the need to “give back” to wider society by pledging at least 10 per cent of their future income to charity, in a scheme called Giving What We Can. Others choose to give back through volunteering, or Teach First. While the programme has faced criticism, with suggestions that graduates use it as an act of self-indulgent altruism before moving on to a better-paid career, the role of intelligent graduates in helping children in some of the most deprived areas of the country should not be undermined.

One graduate has taken Teach First a step further and set up his own free school in Feltham, London, which was recently rated outstanding by Ofsted. Ed Vaniker, who graduated from Downing in 2002, said that he was “committed to serving a community of social need”. The success of Vaniker’s project is most definitely an example of Lord William’s proposal that the role of universities should be to “equip citizens who can confidently take part” in public life as “leaders of various sorts.” The University must continue to serve the wider public in bringing about social mobility.

One fairly easy way to close the gap between town and gown is to cement its role in educating not only its students, but also the local community. While there are a number of lectures open to the public, the cost of the Cambridge summer schools is around £1000 for two weeks – far above what most people can afford.

This is not to say that the University does not do a lot of good work to widen public engagement. But there is so much more that can be done to open up our doors, and get away from that divide between town and gown.