Gates Scholars and Alumni celebrated the scholarship programme’s 10th anniversary last weekend, doing what Gates Scholars do best – talking about issues that affect all of us.

 

220 Scholars were joined by guests and visiting speakers in a programme of events that reflected the aims and aspirations of the Gates Scholarships.

The schedule included panel groups on a wide range of topics, from the impact of technology on education, to the future of environmental sustainability post-Deepwater Horizon, to the funnelling of basic scientific research towards global challenges.

Each panel included leaders in the relevant field, drawn from around the UK, as well as Gates alumni currently working in that field, and the presentations led to lively and wide-ranging discussions.

Current Scholars also had the opportunity to quiz alumni on career paths such as international development, NGOs, start-up companies, and academia.

Professor Dame Alison Richard (pictured right), Vice-Chancellor of the University and Chair of the Gates Trustees, welcoming visitors at the opening reception on Friday, said how delighted she was that the scholarship programme had been such a success, bringing to Cambridge nearly 1000 students from 91 different countries.

Lord Broers, who was Vice-Chancellor of the University when the Gates Cambridge Trust was founded, and the first chairman of the Trust, spoke to the assembled company at Saturday’s dinner.

He drew together the various strands that had led to the Gates Scholarship programme and had laid the ground for its development and success.

He encouraged scholars and alumni to move on into the second decade with a continued combination of humility and ambition.

In the closing remarks of the weekend, Gordon Johnson (pictured left), Provost of the Trust, described the development of the Gates Scholars’ community in Cambridge, and the importance for that success of ideas and leadership from amongst the Scholars themselves.

He hoped that this would be repeated in the evolution of the Gates alumni network.

He also spoke of the rewards that Cambridge had reaped from the outward-looking and inclusive attitude of the Gates community.

He reminded the audience of the importance of universities in society, and encouraged Gates alumni to do good in the world by playing to their own individual strengths, in whatever field those might lie.

The assembled company gave rousing thanks to Gordon Johnson for his contribution as the founding Provost, as well as to the founding members of the Alumni Association, Jennifer Gibson, Hilary Levey and Andrew Robertson, who are now stepping down from office, and to James Smith for his work on making the 10th Anniversary weekend such a success.

The weekend marked the start of a newly-structured Alumni Association, co-chaired by Trivikram Arun and Jennifer Piscopo, who outlined the ways in which the Gates alumni hope to fulfil their side of the Gates scholarship contract, by finding new ways both of promoting the scholarship, and of ‘giving back’ to society in general.

Professor Robert Lethbridge, Master of Fitzwilliam College, will step into the role of Provost of the Gates Cambridge Trust on 1 October this year..

Podcasts of all the weekend’s panel discussions will be available on the Gates Scholars website linked above right website very shortly.

 

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