̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge - Leszek Borysiewicz

Cambridge talent recognised in 2025 New Year Honours

ps748 — Mon, 30 Dec 2024 22:30:00 +0000

Former ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, an Honorary Fellow of Wolfson College, Homerton College and St Edmund's College, is made Knight Grand Cross (GBE) for services to cancer research, clinical research, medicine and to charities.

Professor Ijeoma Uchegbu, who has been President of Wolfson College since October 2024, becomes a Dame (DBE) for services to chemical sciences and inclusion and diversity. Professor Uchegbu is a renowned expert in the field of pharmaceutical science and was most recently Professor of Pharmaceutical Nanoscience at ̽��ֱ�� College London. Her research has focussed on methods that can be used to help drugs reach their target more effectively and reduce the likelihood of uncomfortable side effects. While at UCL she spearheaded a project to improve outcomes for both staff and students from under-represented ethnic groups. She is is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry.

She said: “I’m absolutely thrilled. I wouldn’t say I’m humbled – I know people say that, but when I saw the letter at the Porters’ Lodge what I felt was an overwhelming sense of gratitude and pride. In my wildest dreams I never believed I would get such an award.”

Professor Ashley Moffet, Professor of Reproductive Immunology, is made Companion of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George (CMG) for services to reproductive health. A Fellow of King's College, she is the foremost international authority on the immunology of human reproduction and her work on genetic research has helped explain high rates of pre-eclampsia and maternal mortality in Ugandan populations. She is a Fellow of both the Academy of Medical Sciences and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.

She said: "I am delighted by this honour that is a tribute to the hard work and dedication of my many colleagues both here in Cambridge and in Uganda who are working together so tirelessly to support women in the field of maternal health."

Professor Gilly Carr is Professor of Conflict Archaeology and Holocaust Heritage and receives an OBE for services to Holocaust research and education. Professor Carr, a Fellow of St Catharine's College, is a member of both the UK delegation of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) and the academic advisory board for the UK Holocaust Memorial Centre. Professor Carr has a particular research interest in wartime incarceration, internment and imprisonment. 2024 saw the publication of her latest book, 'A Materiality of Internment', which drew on over 15 years of research and interviews with more than 65 former internees.

She said: “I am absolutely thrilled for my research and teaching to be recognised in this way. I've been working hard on behalf of victims of Nazism and the Holocaust for 15 years and for this to be seen as nationally important and worthwhile encourages me to continue my work with vigour.”

Professor Rachel Oliver, who also receives an OBE, is a materials engineer, inventor and commercial spinout founder. A Fellow of Robinson College, she is currently Director of the Cambridge Centre for Gallium Nitride and Chief Scientific Officer of Poro Technologies Ltd (Porotech). Her research is in understanding and engineering the small-scale structure of semiconductor materials to enable new technologies to develop. Professor Oliver is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Engineering and is a passionate advocate for equality, diversity and inclusion in science and engineering.

She said: “I am delighted to receive this honour and it is vital that I acknowledge the fabulous teams that I work with both in the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and at Porotech, a company that spun out from my research group. I hope I can encourage more people to get involved in semiconductors in the UK. ̽��ֱ��semiconductor ecosystem has been an exciting place to work throughout my career, but never more so than right now, with both research and industry rapidly growing and stepping up to address some of the most pressing challenges we face.”

Dr James Biddulph, former headteacher of the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge Primary School, has been awarded an MBE for services to education. Dr Biddulph was the inaugural headteacher of the school from 2015 until 2023, and under his leadership it attained an Outstanding Ofsted rating in 2018.

Eleanor Sharpston KC, an Emeritus Fellow of King's College, has been made Dame Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (DCMG) for services to Justice and to the Education of Law in the UK and Europe. Dame Eleanor has combined a career as a barrister (specialising in European Union and European Convention on Human Rights law) with an academic career first at ̽��ֱ�� College London and then at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge where she continues as a Yorke Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Law Faculty. She was also Arthur Goodhart Visiting Professor in Legal Science from 2023 to 2024.

Academics and staff at both the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and Colleges feature in the 2025 list, which recognises the achievements and service of people across the UK.

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright © ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified. All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways – on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

Yes

Biomedical science fellowships to be established after gift reflecting Vice-Chancellor's legacy

ts657 — Fri, 28 Jul 2017 08:00:00 +0000

With more postdoctoral researchers than most other institutions, Cambridge sees postdocs as key to its future research strength. Now, a gift from the members of the Collegiate Campaign Board will annually support up to 10 exceptional postdoctoral researchers working in biomedical science.

̽��ֱ��gift is in recognition of the importance placed on postdocs by the outgoing ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz.

̽��ֱ��Borysiewicz Biomedical Sciences Fellowship Programme will award supplementary fellowships annually for four years to up to 10 of the most exceptional postdoctoral researchers when they start working in Cambridge. ̽��ֱ��programme will enable the researchers to focus on a range of global challenges in addition to their primary research.

Under Sir Leszek, Cambridge has made support for the postdoctoral community a priority. An entirely new campus at North West Cambridge is being built to provide dedicated accommodation for key workers in the ̽��ֱ��, primarily postdoctoral researchers. ̽��ֱ��Office for Postdoctoral Affairs (OPdA) also was established in 2013, with a range of opportunities being created to foster postdoctoral potential as world leaders, including three dedicated Postdoc Centres across the expanding Cambridge campus.

Mohamed El-Erian and Sir Harvey McGrath, co-chairs of the campaign for the ̽��ֱ�� and Colleges, said on behalf of the Board: “ ̽��ֱ��recognition and promotion of postdocs in Cambridge are among the most important legacies of Sir Leszek’s successful tenure as Vice-Chancellor. It has been transformative at Cambridge, and the benefits are increasingly spreading out across higher education and the world. ̽��ֱ��Board wanted to celebrate this initiative, and ensure that this legacy will be truly sustainable.”

̽��ֱ��gift will fund a new group of postdocs, the Borysiewicz Biomedical Sciences Fellows, drawn from most gifted of the new medical sciences postdocs arriving each year. ̽��ֱ��programme will provide opportunities to interact with senior figures from academia and industry; and the Fellows will be supported to work in small teams on major interdisciplinary problems.

̽��ֱ��Vice-Chancellor said: “Our postdoctoral researchers are the bedrock of what Cambridge is able to achieve, particularly in terms of its research area. We want to make sure that we can bring the very best here, and that they are fully embedded into our community. I am delighted and honoured that the Borysiewicz Biomedical Sciences Fellowship Programme is being created in my name, and enormously grateful to the members of the Campaign Board for this collective gift, and their incredible generosity.”

Dr Rob Wallach, Director of the Office for Postdoctoral Affairs, said: “ ̽��ֱ��very generous gift of the Campaign Board is exciting and much appreciated. It will embed the Vice-Chancellor’s remarkable vision and his introduction of ways to recognise and enrich the enormous talent of postdoctoral researchers, so developing their potential and enabling many to become future world leaders in diverse fields.”

̽��ֱ��Dear World…Yours, Cambridge campaign for the ̽��ֱ�� and Colleges was launched in autumn 2015 to raise £2bn to attract the brightest minds, create the most inspiring environment for world-class research and give the freedom to develop more world-changing ideas. To date more than £908m has been raised towards the total. ̽��ֱ��campaign focuses on the ̽��ֱ��’s impact on the world, and through it Cambridge is working with philanthropists to address major global challenges.

Much of the world-changing research at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge is underpinned by postdocs - qualified researchers with fixed term contracts.

This will embed the Vice-Chancellor’s remarkable vision and his introduction of ways to recognise and enrich the enormous talent of postdoctoral researchers, so developing their potential and enabling many to become future world leaders in diverse fields.

Director of the Office for Postdoctoral Affairs Dr Rob Wallach

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Yes

Cambridge celebrates 10 years of ERC funding

ag236 — Fri, 17 Mar 2017 10:00:37 +0000

̽��ֱ��ERC was created in 2007 to support innovative, high-impact research in all areas of knowledge by offering 5-year grants to outstanding scientists and scholars. Since its foundation, it has awarded €12 billion to close to 7,000 grant recipients.

̽��ֱ��United Kingdom has been very successful at attracting ERC funding. It is the largest recipient of ERC awards, with 1,524 projects by academics based at UK institutions supported over the past 10 years.

Researchers at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge have won 218 of those grants, in fields ranging from Art History to Zoology. Cambridge is the greatest beneficiary of ERC grants under the current European funding programme, known as Horizon2020.

Prof. Bourguignon’s first port of call in Cambridge was the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, which hosted a conference to celebrate ten years of ERC-funded projects in Anthropology, Archaeology and Classics.

At the Department of Chemistry he met with researchers in the Physical Sciences who have been awarded ERC grants.

Later, at the ̽��ֱ��’s Old Schools, he attended a roundtable with Cambridge ERC-grantees in the Life Sciences and Medicine.

Commenting on his meetings, Prof. Bourguignon remarked: “For the past ten years, the European Research Council has supported high-quality research projects proposed by ambitious scientists. ̽��ֱ��five-year duration of these ERC-supported projects changes the dynamics of the research process, and allows truly ground-breaking results.”

He added: “What has been most interesting about today’s meetings is the diversity of scientific domains represented by Cambridge’s research community.”

In the evening, Prof. Bourguignon was given a tour of the Fitzwilliam Museum’s ERC-funded exhibition, “Madonnas and Miracles: ̽��ֱ��Holy Home in Renaissance Italy”. ̽��ֱ��tour was led by the exhibition’s curators, Dr Vicky Avery, Dr Mary Laven, Dr Abigail Brundin and Prof. Deborah Howard.

Following the visit, he attended a reception at the Museum in honour of the ̽��ֱ��’s ERC grantees.

Speaking at the reception, the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, hailed the ERC as “one of the greatest success stories in the funding of innovative scholarship and science.”

̽��ֱ��ERC’s commitment to scientific excellence, he said, has been uncompromising. “ ̽��ֱ��impact of this commitment, over the past ten years, has been transformative.”

̽��ֱ��Vice-Chancellor added: “Consistently, we hear from our academics that an ERC grant allows them the freedom to innovate and take risks with their research. ̽��ֱ��generous time-frame allows them to tackle big questions that they might not be able to under other circumstances.”

ERC grantees, he said, “are free to pursue their ideas wherever they may lead them, and to reformulate the question they ask, regardless of whether those ideas and those questions were part of the original plan.”

Events have been held across Europe all week to mark the ERC’s anniversary.

Bringing the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge’s celebrations to a close, the Vice-Chancellor said:

“Tonight we thank the ERC for the support it has provided to so many of our extraordinary researchers. And tonight we thank you, our ERC grantees, who through your excellent research have turned into a reality the ERC’s aspiration of making Europe a world-leader in science and scholarship.”

Professor Jean-Pierre Bourguignon, the President of the European Research Council, was in Cambridge on Thursday, 16 March to celebrate the ERC’s 10th anniversary.

̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge

Prof Jean-Pierre Bourguignon, President of ERC, meets researchers in biological and health sciences

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Yes

Cambridge celebrates ‘long-standing and deep-rooted’ relationship with India

cjb250 — Wed, 22 Feb 2017 08:55:58 +0000

̽��ֱ��announcement coincides with a visit to India by Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, Vice-Chancellor of the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge. Professor Borysiewicz will address alumni and donors in New Delhi at an event to celebrate the fundraising campaign for the ̽��ֱ�� and its colleges. He will also reconfirm the ̽��ֱ��’s commitment to attracting the brightest and best students from India.

“I am extremely proud of Cambridge’s long-standing and deep-rooted relationship with India,” says Professor Borysiewicz. “Many of India’s leading figures – academics, scientists, industrialists and politicians – have enjoyed a Cambridge education. Together we have achieved great things, and I know that by continuing to work together we will rise to even greater heights.”

Speaking at the event, the Vice Chancellor will announce that the ̽��ֱ�� is renewing its commitment to attracting talented Indian students to study at Cambridge. From this year, admissions staff will be coming to India to visits schools and meet students face-to-face in Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi. In autumn, a team of academics will visit India to conduct admissions interviews, so that applicants need not travel to the UK for that part of our application process.

“We believe that diversity – of nationality, of background, and of opinion is one of Cambridge’s greatest strengths,” he adds. “We are a ̽��ֱ�� that is open to the world and must remain so.”

̽��ֱ��centrepiece of Cambridge’s 2017 celebrations will be India Unboxed, a programme of exhibitions, events, digital engagement and installations organised by the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge Museums and Botanic Garden. Rooted in the museum collections, the programme will explore themes of identity and connectivity for diverse audiences in the UK and India.

A series of profiles – This Cambridge-Indian Life – will look at the people at the heart of the relationship between Cambridge and India: Indian scholars and students who study at Cambridge, Cambridge researchers working in collaborations based in India, and notable Indian alumni from the ̽��ֱ��.

Throughout the year, the ̽��ֱ�� will highlight key research collaborations that sit at the heart of Cambridge’s relationship with India. Cambridge leads three major joint UK-India centres: in cancer research, anti-microbial resistant tuberculosis, and crop science. It has 85 collaborative research partnerships across India in fields from the arts and humanities to entrepreneurship to the sciences and technology.

“ ̽��ֱ��world today faces critical challenges – in the fields of education, energy, food security, health, and politics - to name but a few,” says Professor Borysiewicz. “These challenges are serious, complex and urgent. My deeply held conviction is that Cambridge has a responsibility to address these challenges. We know we cannot solve any of these problems in isolation and are working with partners in India to find local solutions to global issues.”

Notable Indian alumni from the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge include:

Sir Dorabji Tata (Gonville and Caius College 1877): played a key role in the development of the Tata Group, especially in the steel and power sectors
Prince Ranjitsinhji (Trinity College 1888): considered one of the greatest cricketers of all time and played for Sussex and England. In India, he did much to improve conditions in his home state of Nawanagar
Three Indian prime ministers studied at Cambridge: Jawaharlal Nehru (Trinity College 1907), India's first prime minister; Rajiv Gandhi (Trinity College 1961); Dr Manmohan Singh (St John's College 1955)
Srinivasa Ramanujan (Trinity College 1913): largely self-taught mathematics genius. He was the second Indian to be elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society
Harivansh Rai Bachchan (St Catharine's College 1955): Hindi poet best known for his lyric poem Madhushala
Jayant Narlikar (Fitzwilliam House and King's College 1957): co-developed the conformal gravity theory, commonly known as Hoyle–Narlikar theory, which synthesizes Einstein's Theory of Relativity and Mach's Principle
Amartya Sen (Trinity College 1957, 1998): Nobel prize-winning economist. His reputation is based on studies of famine, human development theory and welfare economics. He plays a key role in the debate on globalisation
Camellia Panjabi (Newnham College 1961): marketing director of Taj Hotels and co-director of Masala World, which own businesses that include the Bombay Brasserie, London
Zia Mody (Selwyn 1976): Indian legal consultant, considered an authority on corporate merger and acquisition law
Karan, Lord Bilimoria (Sidney Sussex College 1985): founder of Cobra Beer and founding chairman of the Indo British Partnership Network
Prathiba Singh (Hughes Hall 1991): leading intellectual property lawyer

For more information on Cambridge and India, see our new India site.

Today, as part of UK-India Year of Culture 2017, the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge launches a year-long celebration of its ties with India, which stretch back 150 years.

Yogesh Mhatre

Indian flag mosaic

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Yes

Licence type:

Attribution

Vice-Chancellor's statement on US travel ban

ag236 — Mon, 30 Jan 2017 15:10:53 +0000

̽��ֱ�� ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge is a global community of scholars.

For centuries, it has thrived on the talent and the ideas brought by people from around the world. It has, in turn, contributed to global knowledge through the free movement of its students and researchers. We believe that diversity – of nationality, of background and of opinion – is one of our greatest strengths.

̽��ֱ��recent executive order issued by the United States government, imposing a ban on nationals of seven Muslim-majority nations, is an affront to one of the most fundamental human freedoms.

As the head of a university whose staff is actively engaged in research collaborations around the world, I cannot accept a policy that undermines academic freedom, disrupts partnerships, and blocks the pathways to understanding between peoples, faiths and nations.

As the son of a family of refugees welcomed by Britain after the Second World War, I abhor a discriminatory policy that further endangers the lives of people who have fled conflict and sought sanctuary elsewhere.

While we acknowledge that a country must have the right to manage its own borders, this ban is fundamentally at odds with the values of openness, tolerance and evidence-based decision-making that the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge stands for.

Implementation of the executive order may curtail some of our researchers’ ability to attend academic events, work with colleagues, and in some cases even meet with their families in the United States.

Although we are not yet aware of any specific cases, the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge will provide guidance and support to any of its students or members of staff affected by the travel ban.

We are determined to champion openness, and the free exchange of knowledge across borders. Even as governments around the world seek to curb freedom of movement, the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge remains committed to welcoming the best and brightest students and staff— irrespective of their nationality.

---

Students concerned about the potential impact on their travel plans of new restrictions on entry to the United States can contact the International Student Team; staff members with similar concerns can contact the ̽��ֱ��'s Immigration and Compliance Manager.

" ̽��ֱ��executive order issued by the United States government is an affront to one of the most fundamental human freedoms," says Sir Leszek Borysiewicz

I cannot accept a policy that undermines academic freedom, disrupts partnerships, and blocks the pathways to understanding between peoples

Sir Leszek Borysiewicz

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Yes

̽��ֱ��Prince of Wales and ̽��ֱ��Duchess of Cornwall visit Cambridge to mark auspicious anniversaries

ag236 — Mon, 28 Nov 2016 13:00:16 +0000

Their Royal Highnesses were welcomed to the Fitzwilliam Museum by by the Lord Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire, Sir Hugh Duberly, by the Vice-Chancellor of the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, and by the Museum’s Director, Mr Tim Knox.

At the Museum, they met pupils from King’s Hedges School and Soham Village College taking part in educational activities designed by the museum to allow primary school children to interact with the exhibits.

̽��ֱ��Prince of Wales and ̽��ֱ��Duchess of Cornwall met staff from the Fitzwilliam Museum, and were shown treasures from the Museum’s collection including a unique sculpture in wax, “Arabesque over the Right Leg, Left Arm in Front”, by Edgar Degas, and a European medieval illuminated manuscript.

Staff from the Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� Library demonstrated the latest digitisation techniques, and displayed rare items from the UL’s collection including a copy of Charles Darwin’s On the origin of species by means of natural selection (1859) and Andreas Vesalius De humani corporis fabrica librorum epitome (1543).

Also at the Fitzwilliam, Their Royal Highnesses met with representatives of ̽��ֱ��-led and local outreach, education and development initiatives including the Cambridge-Africa Programme, the Cambridge Development Initiative, the Research for Equitable Access and Learning Centre, the Campaign for Female Education, and the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, of which ̽��ֱ��Prince is Patron. They were then introduced to foreign students awarded the prestigious Gates Cambridge Scholarships.

Addressing Their Royal Highnesses after the Museum visit, the Vice-Chancellor said:

“It is especially gratifying to welcome ̽��ֱ��Prince of Wales back to Cambridge as one of our most distinguished alumni. There are some 230,000 active members of the ̽��ֱ��’s alumni networks around the world. His Royal Highness is not only one of the most prominent among them, but also one of the most supportive of the ̽��ֱ��. We are grateful for his key role as Patron to the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership and to the Cambridge Commonwealth, European & International Trust.”

In the afternoon, Their Royal Highnesses attended a rehearsal of the King’s College Choir.

̽��ֱ��Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall visited the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge on Tuesday 29 November to mark the Fitzwilliam Museum’s bicentenary and to celebrate the 600th anniversary of the Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� Library

His Royal Highness is not only one of the most prominent among our alumni, but also one of the most supportive of the ̽��ֱ��.

Sir Leszek Borysiewicz

Nick Saffell

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Yes

Cambridge has waived application fees for graduate students from most African countries

ag236 — Wed, 26 Oct 2016 09:54:52 +0000

Applause greeted the statement by Professor David Dunne, Director of the Cambridge-Africa Programme, as he confirmed that Cambridge has waived the usual application fee for nationals of many of the world’s least developed countries.

Welcoming participants to the third edition of the Cambridge-Africa Day, he expressed his aspiration that this policy will allow Cambridge to attract increasing numbers of talented graduate students to the various scholarship schemes available for Sub-Saharan students.

“ ̽��ֱ��purpose of the Cambridge-Africa Programme is to make Cambridge’s support available to African researchers working on African problems, allowing them to build capacity in their home universities.” ̽��ֱ��fee waiver, he added, is a “major contribution” to that effort.

In his opening remarks, Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, Vice-Chancellor of the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, asked: “Why should academic institutions get involved in tackling some of the world’s most insoluble problems?”

“Because we have to decide what our values are, and how they allow us to succeed in our mission. Cambridge’s mission is to contribute to society through education, learning and research. ̽��ֱ��definition of society has changed over the past 800 years –but today that society is global.”

He added: “Being high on league tables does not make a university global. ̽��ֱ��real challenge is: what are you giving up? How are you sharing your influence to support other institutions? It’s not about aggrandising oneself, but about aggrandising others.”

̽��ֱ��Vice-Chancellor described the capacity building Cambridge-Africa Programme, set up in 2008, as an ambitious, long-term project with sustainability at its heart. “Cambridge-Africa is about planting seeds that allow partner institutions to thrive.”

Addressing a packed auditorium in Emmanuel College’s Queen’s Building, the Vice-Chancellor mentioned the Programme’s partnerships with over 50 African institutions across 23 countries, including its two regional hubs at the ̽��ֱ�� of Ghana, Legon, and at Makerere ̽��ֱ��, in Uganda.

̽��ֱ��Programme has enlisted the expertise and mentorship of a network of over 200 Cambridge collaborators, and to date has supported 70 African post-doctoral researchers and 35 African PhD students.

“ ̽��ֱ�� ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge has invested £4 million pounds in the Cambridge-Africa Programme, and has leveraged that to attract £6.9 million to the ̽��ֱ�� for its mentorship and collaboration initiatives”, he said. “Crucially, this has led to almost £21.9 million in external funding being allocated to our African partners”.

In the day’s first keynote address, Kenyan palaeontologist Professor Richard Leakey said that internationally renowned universities like Cambridge should do more to educate civil servants and policymakers in Africa about the importance of research and education:

“A ̽��ֱ�� like Cambridge can play a much bigger role in Africa by interacting with African government at the highest level.”

He assured the audience of students, academics, administrators, NGO representatives and philanthropists that the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge is likely to be identified with the next major breakthrough in our understanding of African history.

“ ̽��ֱ��story of Africa is important for Africa, and Africans. There is a gap of self awareness in terms of who we are. We have an opportunity to see some real cooperation between Cambridge and Kenya.”

̽��ֱ��afternoon’s keynote speaker, Her Excellency Mrs Toyin Saraki, made an eloquent plea for closer collaboration between universities and Africa’s maternal and neo-natal health specialists.

Mrs Saraki, founder of the Wellbeing Foundation Africa, a non-profit organisation working with governments and NGOs across Africa to ensure better maternal, new-born and child health, remarked on the difficulties faced by women in her own country, Nigeria –where 14% of women are likely to die from maternal mortality complications.

“I started the Wellbeing Foundation out of personal suffering. We’ve moved beyond the suffering to providing the solutions.”

She challenged the audience to consider how academic research can cascade down to impact individuals at a community level: “What we need from our partnership with universities is the evidence that will allow us to advocate for the necessary support to improve maternal health and those providing it.”

̽��ֱ��day’s final keynote speaker, Professor Ebenezer Owusu, Vice-Chancellor of the ̽��ֱ�� of Ghana, recalled the collaborative links between his institution and the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge going back to 1948, when Cambridge academics helped to found what was then called the ̽��ֱ�� of the Gold Coast.

“Cambridge has long offered opportunities to train Ghana’s human capital and help meet Ghana’s developmental needs,” he said, reflecting on how the Cambridge-Africa Partnership for Research Excellence (CAPREx) has helped build capacity in research management at the ̽��ֱ�� of Ghana.

“There is a shift in the place of Africa in the world today,” he said. “It is amplified by the ‘Africa Rising’ narrative, and by the resoluteness of African growth in the face of an economic downturn. Yet the continent’s higher education institutions have not changed. There is a need for more inclusive partnerships with universities like Cambridge.”

He added: “Africa must lead research initiatives in solving African problems.There is a need for a new type of partnership: equal partnership in the generation of knowledge and creative solutions, not just for Africa abut for the world.”

At the end of a day that included discussions on collaborations in African archaeology, conservation, maternal health, plant science, pharmacology, social enterprise and student-led Africa-focussed initiatives, Professor Eilís Ferran, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for International Affairs summed up the key ideas:

“We’ve learned about the need to study a problem in the population most affected by it. We’ve heard about the multiplying effect of training the key people in any discipline. We’ve considered the challenges of mentoring, and raised the question of whether we are doing enough to equip people to operate in challenging environments. And we are clear about the challenges of new partnerships, and the role of African universities in leading those partnerships.”

Regarding the sustainability of the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge’s engagement with Africa, she concluded: “Frankly, it’s here to stay”.

Details of the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge's Graduate Admissions policy for applicants from Least Developed and Low-Income Countries can be found here.

̽��ֱ�� ̽��ֱ��’s policy on graduate admissions was reiterated at the opening of the third Cambridge-Africa Day

̽��ֱ��Cambridge-Africa Programme is about planting seeds that allow partner institutions to thrive.

Professor Sir Leszek Borysewicz

Nic Marchant

Prof Sir Leszek Borysiewicz

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Yes

Record-breaking year in philanthropic support for Cambridge celebrated in Vice-Chancellor’s 1 October speech

pbh25 — Sat, 01 Oct 2016 09:05:00 +0000

̽��ֱ�� ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge has had the most successful fundraising year in its history, with more than £210 million raised.

̽��ֱ��record sum was raised in a combined effort by the ̽��ֱ�� and 31 Colleges as part of the £2 billion “Dear World… Yours, Cambridge” campaign, which focuses on the ̽��ֱ��’s impact on the world. This brings the campaign total so far to £743 million*.

Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, Vice-Chancellor of the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, celebrated the power of collegiate Cambridge and the importance of philanthropy in his annual address to the ̽��ֱ�� at the start of the academic year.

̽��ֱ��Vice-Chancellor, in his seventh and final October 1 speech, said: “ ̽��ֱ��collegiate nature of the ̽��ֱ�� has been, and remains, one of our greatest strengths.

“Bound inextricably by history, and by a joint responsibility for students, today the ̽��ֱ�� and the 31 colleges work in a common endeavour more closely than at any time I can remember.

“This has been particularly true since the launch, at the end of last year, of the most ambitious fundraising campaign in the collegiate ̽��ֱ��’s history.

“Philanthropy is critical to us. It underpins our academic autonomy, and allows us to deliver our transformative research. It brings the best people to study and work with us. They are the people who will produce ideas that change the world.

“Philanthropy is the catalyst for discovery – and it ensures that discoveries continue, even at a time of unparalleled financial challenges. To all of our benefactors we owe our immense, continued gratitude.”

̽��ֱ��sums raised this year include a huge variety of gifts from supporters of Cambridge including £35 million from the estate of Ray Dolby to Pembroke College, $25 million from Jamie Walters and Dr Mohamed A. El-Erian split between Queens’ College and the Faculty of Economics and $27 million from Dr Bill and Weslie Janeway to Economics and an anonymous gift of £20 million to St John’s College for studentships. Earlier gifts to the campaign, which was publicly launched in 2015 and seeks to raise £2 billion, include an £8 million gift from the James Dyson Foundation to support the James Dyson Building and the Dyson Centre for Engineering Design in Cambridge, a donation of £5 million from entrepreneur Jonathan Milner to support the Milner Therapeutics Institute and Consortium; and £5 million from Cantab Capital Partners to create an Institute for Mathematics of Information.

Speaking about the announcement Professor Ian White, Master of Jesus College and Chair of the Colleges’ Committee, said: “Collegiate Cambridge has many strengths. It gives our remarkable students an extraordinary learning experience. It allows us to attract and support outstanding people - academics and students alike. It provides a vibrant space in which people are free to explore their ideas together, and develop new thinking that creates transformational ideas. It is these strengths that have been recognised by the generosity of our supporters.”

Campaign co-chair Dr Mohamed A. El-Erian said: “Cambridge transforms lives and improves the wellbeing of many, so I am delighted this campaign has gained such traction and will help Cambridge deliver more to more people. We are extremely grateful to the donors for a generosity that empowers so many across the ̽��ֱ�� and Colleges to continue their hard and influential work.”

Fellow co-chair Sir Harvey McGrath said: “ ̽��ֱ�� ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge has had a huge impact on the world in many different ways. This outstanding support will help us to continue answering difficult questions and rising to the challenges humanity faces in the 21st century.”

̽��ֱ��Vice-Chancellor celebrated the power of collegiate Cambridge and the importance of philanthropy in his annual address.

Bound inextricably by history, and by a joint responsibility for students, today the ̽��ֱ�� and the 31 colleges work in a common endeavour more closely than at any time I can remember.

Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz

̽��ֱ��campaign co-chairs:

Dr Mohamed A. El-Erian. ̽��ֱ��former Chief Executive of PIMCO, one of the world’s largest investment management companies, Dr El-Erian now serves as Chair of President Obama’s Global Development Council, Chief Economic Advisor for Allianz, and writes regularly for Bloomberg, the Financial Times and Project Syndicate. Dr El-Erian is honorary fellow and alumnus of Queens’ (Economics, 1977), a board member of Cambridge in America, and a member of the Guild of Benefactors.
Sir Harvey McGrath is an alumnus of St Catharine’s (Geography, 1971) and is now Chairman of Big Society Capital. He is a member of the Guild of Cambridge Benefactors and was awarded ̽��ֱ��Chancellor’s 800th Anniversary Medal for Outstanding Philanthropy in June 2012. He is chairman of a number of charities, including Heart of the City and the Prince’s Teaching Institute, and is a trustee of New Philanthropy Capital, and the Mayor’s Fund for London.

* ̽��ֱ��campaign figures include philanthropic gifts to Colleges, the ̽��ֱ�� and the Cambridge Trust.

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. For image use please see separate credits above.

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