From Coastal Canada to Global Conflict Zones: Gates Cambridge Scholar Emma Houiellebecq
It started during her high school days in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. Even then, Emma Houiellebecq (St John’s 2016) was determined to find a way to help address some of the world’s toughest problems. As an undergraduate studying at the University of British Columbia, she majored in civil engineering because she felt it would prepare her to make a difference in tangible, immediate ways.
Today, after being awarded Gates Cambridge scholarships for both her MPhil and her PhD, and receiving a Gates Cambridge Impact Prize in 2025, honoring outstanding alumni who have made transformative contributions across global sectors, Houiellebecq has taken on a new role as Senior Analyst with the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) at its headquarters in Copenhagen, where she is part of the Strategic Advice and Support team.
In between her MPhil and PhD, she spent several years working with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), including in field-based roles in South Sudan and Gaza. Her PhD research later took her to Venezuela, Lebanon, and Ukraine, where she focused on infrastructure resilience and essential service delivery in contexts affected by conflict, displacement, and other forms of prolonged crisis.
Houiellebecq’s next chapter offers another opportunity to contribute to addressing complex global challenges. In her role, she works with colleagues on how infrastructure can be made more resilient, sustainable, and inclusive at a time of funding constraints and increasingly complex global challenges.
Houiellebecq recently answered questions about her work and her career so far.
Gaza, 2021
How has the Gates Cambridge Scholarship shaped your career path?
Cambridge gave me the space to think about my goals and to connect with people who are working to solve similar problems from different angles and perspectives. The scholarships provided a period of time that is very unique in life. You're placed into an environment where developing ideas, building on the ideas of others, and advancing thinking in these areas is not only encouraged but expected. It was an amazing experience.
Gaza, 2021
What challenges you most about your new position at UNOPS?
One of the biggest challenges right now is maintaining progress towards the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals, which the international community aims to achieve by 2030. This requires concerted, coordinated efforts across the world, at a time when attention and resources are being pulled in many directions by conflicts and other increasingly complex global challenges.
One of the significant issues we've seen in recent years in the humanitarian sector is a reduction in funding, while needs remain extremely high in many contexts. So, the gap between available funding and needs is significant. To continue making progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals, we've got to maintain a concerted effort and think carefully about how limited resources can be used effectively.
Venezuela, 2023
What attracted you to this role?
This role brings together many of the areas I’ve been hoping to work towards. UNOPS supports the implementation of projects and delivery on the ground, including infrastructure, project management, and procurement. In my role, I'm looking at how we can strengthen the resilience of infrastructure in our projects and make infrastructure more inclusive and more sustainable. It's a very exciting place to be. To be able to bring the experience that I've developed so far into this position feels very fortunate.
Venezuela, 2023
What advice do you have for anyone considering applying for a Gates Cambridge scholarship?
For myself, when I considered applying, it felt like such a huge, insurmountable dream. But don’t let that stop you. I had no idea if it was going to be achievable, especially coming from a small town like Kelowna, which felt very far removed from Cambridge. So just believe in yourself and be ambitious. If you do that, you may be surprised by where it can lead.