The scene was set for one of those Hollywood versions of Oxford life that occur from time to time, writes Margaret Ounsley, Oxford University head of government and community relations.

It was June 19 and the sun was shining for Encaenia, the annual recognition of outstanding achievement that marks the end of the Oxford University academic year – a sort of glorious, ancient, end-of-term assembly.

Those out on Broad Street or Parks Road would have spotted the scarlet and black and gold and grey of the academic robes, flapping on the back of someone disappearing into a gate, as late as Alice’s rabbit.

In among the gowns and tradition there were some extraordinary achievements to celebrate.

Not Tom Stoppard and Tanni Grey-Thompson or their fellow honorands, brilliant though their achievements are, but the vice-chancellor’s Civic Awards.

These are given each year to students who demonstrate an outstanding commitment to volunteer work – and it was all astonishing.

One young woman was bringing together healthcare professionals across the Arab-Israeli divide; another was championing access to higher education for students with disabilities.

But the one that really caught my eye, because it is at the heart of what I do, was a student who had been working with young people across Oxford to interest them in politics and economics.

I heard, from somebody who should know, that he had made an enormous impact – and hopefully a lasting one.

This is typical of my experience of Oxford University since I started my job less than a year ago.

You do not need to scratch very far below the surface to find the rich stream of interaction that goes on between the university and the community it is part of.

It could be students volunteering via Oxford Hub or as part of their studies, medical research in partnership with The John Radcliffe Hospital, business start-ups spun out from university innovations, support for reading and writing in local schools, archaeological digs with local people, choirs, plays, lectures and ensembles, Christmas Light Night, our wonderful museums and collections – the list is almost endless.

And many people who see the university as something unconnected to their lives will be interacting without even realising it.

They might take their children to the Museum of Natural History or Ashmolean Museum without knowing they are part of the university, or they may be treated by a hospital consultant who is also doing cutting-edge university medical research.

In more general terms, the university is the second largest employer in Oxfordshire, supporting more than 18,000 jobs and injecting £750 million annually into the regional economy.

More than nine million tourists, attracted by the university, visit Oxford each year, spending £589 million and supporting 13,700 jobs.

The university is the fourth-largest centre in the UK for lifelong learning, with 13,000 people taking more than 800 short and part-time courses.

But back to Alice again, and the Red Queen was quite right when she said you have to run to stay still.

That is why so much of my time is taken up with making Oxford University’s links with the community even better.

For example, the new Radcliffe Observatory Quarter is a prime space for community and arts use, and work is well under way to make sure it is used as widely and as imaginatively as possible. But what more can we do?

How else can we work with local businesses or support the city council?

And how can people talk to us more easily?

It is a huge, broad, complex relationship; far too important to both sides to leave untended. And I am loving being part of it.