2021 cohort joins the ranks of Harding Distinguished Postgraduate Scholars
We welcome our third cohort of Harding Distinguished Postgraduate Scholars to the University of Cambridge. The 2021 intake includes 26 students from 15 countries, studying subjects from Archaeology to Zoology — and virtually everything in between — at 16 Colleges.
Student support has transformed these students’ lives, and their research may well transform ours.
Professor Stephen J Toope, Vice-Chancellor
The Harding Scholars Programme now encompasses 78 individuals from 30 countries, bringing diverse global perspectives to this multidisciplinary Scholarship community. Ultimately the programme will fully fund, in perpetuity, more than 100 PhD students in residence across the University at any one time.
The launch of the Programme in 2019 was thanks to an exceptional gift from David and Claudia Harding. Scholarships are available to the most talented students — from any country and for research in any discipline — to augment the breadth and depth of knowledge and research that is so vital to our University and to societies around the world.
The Harding Scholars Programme strengthens the postgraduate research landscape, bringing the brightest students from all over the world to Cambridge to study some of today’s most pressing challenges. In a short time, the Scholars have distinguished themselves with recognition and prizes, leading research initiatives, publishing articles in high-profile publications, speaking at conferences, and engaging with the community. They have made significant advances across a broad research portfolio, and they continue to make their mark in fields as diverse as Archaeology, Linguistics, and Chemistry.
Speaking to the 2021 cohort, the Vice-Chancellor commented that the wide range of research topics covered by this year’s intake acknowledges that now more than ever, no single discipline nor lone researcher has all the answers to the challenges of an increasingly complex and puzzling world. It recognises that we are at our strongest when we share knowledge and develop interconnected thought and practice. This cohort’s research topics range from strategies for improving infection and disease control, food security, and livestock health management, to a study of mixed socioeconomic status (SES) learning environments, and to the interaction between gravity, quantum field theory, and condensed matter physics.
Applications for 2022 entry are now open. Full details of eligibility criteria and applications process.
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Philanthropic giving is at the heart of the success of the Collegiate University, enabling us to make discoveries that change the world and to ensure that our students receive an unrivalled education. Cambridge owes its world-leading excellence in research and teaching to the generosity of its supporters. Our history is synonymous with a history of far-sighted benefaction, and the same is as true today as it has ever been.
