E-bulletin 3: Spring 2011

What’s new at the Trusts?
In mid-March we held our Annual Reception for all Scholars, in the splendid surroundings of the Fitzwilliam Museum. Over 600 students from 69 countries met with Trustees, staff of the Trusts, funding partners, and senior representatives of the University. An added highlight was the attendance of the Trusts’ Patron, HRH The Prince of Wales, and the University’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, who both circulated through the galleries and talked to many guests.

Our Director, Michael O’Sullivan, has travelled recently to Rwanda, where he reached agreement with the Ministry of Education to co-fund postgraduate scholarships for Rwandan applicants from the fields of higher education or public administration. He then visited South Africa, where we are working with several public bodies and private charities on possible scholarship schemes.

During the first of two visits to China in recent months, Michael finalised a scholarship scheme with the Agricultural Bank of China to support Masters students from less well-developed regions of China. During the second he accompanied the Vice-Chancellor on his first official visit to China as representative of the University. Forthcoming travels are likely to include Canada, the USA, Brazil and Chile.

The Trusts were delighted to welcome a member of their International Advisory Council, HRH Prince El Hassan bin Talal of Jordan, to Cambridge in January. He took part in a round-table discussion with a group of students from Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Tunisia and Sudan; the discussion covered many topics of relevance to the Middle East, including higher education in the Arab world, democratisation in the region (before the recent dramatic developments in several counties there), and the definition of the term ‘Middle East’.

A small piece of domestic news: the Trusts’ offices in Sidney Street are now adorned with a set of limited edition prints, on generous loan from King’s College. The ten artists represented include international figures such as Antony Gormley and Peter Blake. Please come and view them (and talk with us) when you are next in Cambridge.

Cambridge Australia Scholarships
Cambridge Australia Scholarships has been made a member of the University’s Guild of Benefactors - membership is granted in recognition of the generosity of donors to the University and its Colleges. During its 30 year history, CAS has supported nearly 900 Australian scholars in Cambridge. Richard Dammery, Chair of CAS, represented the alumni organisation at the ceremony in the University’s Senate House, and took the opportunity to meet with many of the CAS scholars currently studying in Cambridge.

Other news from Cambridge Alumni groups
Regional alumni groups are playing an ever-important role, both in their home countries and in engagement with the University. For the first time, a Cambridge alumni group is being launched in Tanzania; activities will start on an informal basis but when numbers grow the society hopes to hold annual or bi-annual events to connect members.

The Oxford & Cambridge Society of Kenya, which was founded as long ago as the 1920s, has long worked to support Kenyan students here, and has just reached an agreement with CCT and Wolfson College to extend its support to a Masters student next year.

The annual Cambridge in America Day took place recently in New York, with speakers from the University, panel discussions, and an art exhibition from Christ’s College artist-in-residence Issam Kourbaj. Cambridge in America organises a full programme of events in all US states, and has a wide network of representatives.

Other Cambridge news
Lord Rees, Master of Trinity College, Astronomer Royal and former President of the Royal Society, has been awarded the 2011 Templeton Prize. Although the prize is for ‘Progress Toward Research or Discoveries about Spiritual Realities’ and is awarded annually to an individual who promotes and advances the understanding of spiritual matters, it has in the past often been awarded to notable scientists.

The Scott Polar Research Museum has been shortlisted for a substantial Art Fund Prize, which recognizes excellence and innovation in museums and galleries around the UK. The Museum has recently undergone a major redevelopment, increasing the number of exhibits on public view, enabling environmental control of the displays, and enhancing conservation facilities. The Trusts’ links with SPRI, and with the Rutherford Foundation in New Zealand, continue this year with the arrival in Cambridge of the Scott Polar Centenary Scholar.

International banking group Santander has renewed its agreement with the University to support a range of initiatives in Cambridge. These include postgraduate scholarships, a visiting fellowship at the Judge Business School, student funds for some of the less well-endowed Colleges, travel awards for staff and students, and an interdisciplinary project on environmental sustainability - an innovative Living Laboratory project, which turns the research lens inwards to improve the University’s own sustainability

Our alumni
As you will see on the Alumni page of our website, we have started to display some alumni profiles. If you would like to contribute to these, or have any news or suggestions to convey to the Trusts, please contact us at cct.cot.alumni@admin.cam.ac.uk