For a quarter of a century the Gates Cambridge Scholar program has been building a global network of leaders committed to improving the lives of others and addressing global challenges.
The Gates Cambridge Scholars, made possible by a generous endowment gift from the (then) Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is an international scholarship program for outstanding graduate students to study at Cambridge
This year, as Gates Cambridge celebrates its 25-year anniversary, it is highlighting a cadre of the program’s global superstars, underscoring what they have dubbed the Ripple Effect, the cumulative power of supporting change-makers preparing to make the world a better place.
Eilis Ferran, Provost of Gates Cambridge, described the impact so far this way:
“For 25 years now, students from across the globe have come to Cambridge to work with us and become part of our community. Then, when they go back out into the world as Gates Cambridge scholars, they make it a better place in ways no one could have predicted at the start. Whether a contribution as small as a poem that heals a single human heart or as vast as the medicine that cures a million, the possibilities we set in motion are infinite. This is the heart – and the wonder – of the Gates Cambridge mission. To create a limitless ripple effect of possibility and change.”
Provost Ferran answered a few of our questions about the scope and collective impact of the Gates Cambridge Scholar Program and the role Cambridge in America played in establishing support for the program 25 years ago.
Why is it important to celebrate Gates Cambridge Scholars’ quarter century anniversary?
We believe at 25 years, it’s appropriate to reflect on the impact of the program on Cambridge and the world. We now have over two thousand Gates Cambridge scholars who have been through Cambridge and who are now out in the world making a difference. So, it’s a moment where we can look back and see the impact that’s been made by this incredibly generous investment in human potential.
How would you characterize Cambridge in America’s part in the Gates Cambridge Scholars Program?
Our story and CAm’s story are very intertwined. The key conversations with Bill Gates Senior happened in New York City. Cambridge in America was instrumental in securing the gift that established the program. He asked why Cambridge didn’t have quite the profile you would expect it to have in the US. CAm suggested that part of the reason was that Cambridge didn’t have its own equivalent to the Rhodes scholarship. That was inspirational for Bill Gates Senior.
How is the program fulfilling its intended mission so far?
Bill Gates himself cherishes the fact that this was one of his father’s favorite gifts from the foundation and really wants to see his amazing philanthropic generosity make a difference in his lifetime. This gift is about taking a chance on people that they’re going to do something great in the long term. And our more than two thousand scholars are making their mark every day.
Many of our scholars are looking at different aspects of the climate threat and an increasing number is working on AI and its implications for society. Recently, I attended a celebration for Gates Scholar Toby Norman, CEO of the open-source biometrics non-profit Simprints. He was named a Gates Foundation UK Goalkeeper earlier this year.
How has Gates Cambridge contributed to the life of Cambridge?
Part of the reason Cambridge was so pleased to receive that gift is that it helped Cambridge address two things. One, the balance between undergraduate and post-graduate students. And two, the international diversity of the student cohort. So, it’s a really significant part of the Cambridge story. The scholars have made us a much richer, more diverse culture, and that is very much reflected in the Cambridge that we see today.