The end of September 2025 marked an important milestone: the launch of the inaugural University of Cambridge Better Futures Programme.
The founding cohort convened in the historic setting of Cambridge to begin a journey shaped from the outset by new connections and ideas for meaningful societal impact.
Programme Chair Andy Neely and Master of Downing College, Graham Virgo, opened the day before programme leads and co-founders Dr Alison Wood, Jaideep Prabhu and Stewart McTavish guided sessions that connected participants to each other, to Cambridge, and to the months ahead.
In the afternoon we were joined by three of the programme’s Health & Wellbeing Theme Leads: Pam Garside (Chair of Cambridge Angels) Patrick Maxwell (Professor of Physic and Head of the School of Clinical Medicine) Martin Burton (Master of Sidney Sussex College).
Throughout the year, Better Futures Leaders will design projects that address societal challenges across three themes: Sustainability, Health & Wellbeing, and Fair & Prosperous Society. The aforementioned theme leads opened the Health theme with powerful discussions, joined by Professor Ian Abbs (Chief Executive, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust) on the realities of delivering complex health services and Giles Yeo MBE (Professor of Molecular Neuroendocrinology, University of Cambridge) on the challenges of obesity today.
The day concluded with welcome drinks, where the cohort was joined by distinguished University leaders including Bhaskar Vira, Kirsty Allen, Gishan Dissanaike, Kamal Munir, Andy Parker, Laurie Bristow, Simon McDonald and Lord Simon Woolley.
The combination of genuine warmth among participants and the chance to engage with leading expertise on the very first day sets a strong foundation for the year ahead.
As the week unfolded, the focus shifted from introductions to imagination, with sessions exploring how storytelling, futures literacy, and sustainability can shape better futures for all.
Highlights from Tuesday and Wednesday included Dr Una McCormack, award-winning screenwriter and science-fiction author, who led a workshop on Telling Better Stories: Narratives for the Future. Loes Damhof, UNESCO Chair Futures Literacy, followed with an introduction to anticipation as a practice: using imagination to engage with the future as a way of better understanding the present.
On Tuesday afternoon, the cohort were introduced to the Sustainability Theme, led by the fantastic Lindsay Hooper (Executive Director, Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership) and Dr Chris Sandbrook (Associate Professor of Geography and Director of the Interdisciplinary Conservation Research Group).
A fascinating panel discussion then followed including insights from Stephen Davison (Director of Strategy, Cambridge Zero at University of Cambridge), Dr Lesley D. (Executive Vice President of BirdLife International), Dominic Vergine (CEO & Founder, Monumo) and Rob Percival (Head of Food Policy, Soil Association).
And, in true Cambridge fashion, the day ended on a note of calm with the peaceful harmonies of the Jesus College choir filling the chapel, an appropriate moment of reflection after a day spent re-imagining the future.
The momentum carried through to the final days, with hands-on design thinking workshops and powerful discussions on fairness, value, and innovation, closing an extraordinary opening week at Cambridge.
Matt Marsh (Director of People-Shaped) and Andrew McGowan (Director of Programmes and Partnerships, Cambridge Ahead) guided the Better Futures Leaders through creative, human-centred approaches to complex societal challenges. Kate Willsher (COO at IfM Engage) and Sadiq Jaffer (Assistant Research Professor, Department of Computer Science and Technology) joined Thursday’s sessions, bringing valuable perspectives from Cambridge’s enterprise and innovation community.
Professors Jaideep Prabhu and Lucia Reisch led the Fair & Prosperous Society Theme panel, with superb senior researchers Micha Arne Kaiser (Assistant Research Professor El-Erian Institute of Behavioural Economics and Policy), Abdullah Safir (Gates Cambridge Scholar), Dr. Maya Indira Ganesh (Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence, Associate Director) and Serish Venkata Gandikota (Cofounder-Frugal AI Hub) broadening discussion on fairness, value, and innovation in practice.
The week concluded with dinner at King’s College, Cambridge, where members of the Better Futures community were joined by University leaders and guests, bringing the week’s conversations full circle in the hall of King’s.
Attendees included Bhaskar Vira (Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Education and Environmental Sustainability at University of Cambridge), Graham Watson (Bursar at St Edmund’s College), Julian Huppert (Director of the Intellectual Forum, Jesus College), Lindsay Hooper (CEO for the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership), Prof William O’Neill FREng (Professor of Laser Engineering Cambridge University Engineering Department), Pam Garside (Co Chair Cambridge Health Network), Marta Magalhaes Wallace (Director of Studies for Human, Social & Political Sciences) and Andy Neely (Former Senior Pro-Vice-Chancellor: Enterprise and Business Relations).
The onboarding week of the Better Futures Programme set the tone for what lies ahead — a community grounded in curiosity and collaboration for positive impact. We’re deeply grateful to everyone who helped make this inaugural week possible — from speakers and University leaders to our founding cohort of Better Futures Leaders.
The University of Cambridge Better Futures Programme is a highly personalised six- or twelve-month programme at the University of Cambridge, designed for accomplished leaders exploring the next phase of their impact. Key information as follows:
- You work with an academic mentor to create a bespoke selection of courses that are relevant to you – drawn from undergraduate, postgraduate, and continuing education options across Cambridge.
- You are hosted at a Cambridge college, with bespoke tuition (one-to-one supervisions).
- You take part in a core programme with your cohort of accomplished peers, designed to help you focus your time on a project of both personal and societal benefit
- Partners are welcome
Applications are now open for the 2026/27 cohort, commencing September 2026.
