Gates Cambridge for life
Being awarded a Gates Cambridge Scholarship is not a one-off achievement; it’s the start of a lifelong relationship with a community of changemakers from more than 100 countries, working across science, policy, the arts, business and civil society. Scholars join a network of over 2,000 Gates Cambridge Alumni, and that network stays open to them long after they leave Cambridge.
A community beyond Cambridge
Gates Cambridge isn’t something that ends when the funding does. Scholars go on to become Trustees, sit on the panels that select the next generation, host events for the community in their own cities, return to Cambridge to give talks and mentor Scholars just starting out. Many stay involved through the Scholar Alumni Advisory Committee, which works alongside the Trust to represent the alumni community and shape how it stays connected. It’s a community Scholars are welcomed to keep shaping, not simply belong to.
What being a Scholar brings
- A home in Cambridge. Bill Gates Sr. House, the Trust’s purpose-built home in the city centre, is open to alumni as well as current Scholars — a place to work, meet and reconnect whenever they’re back.
- A global events programme. From regional gatherings to talks with leading academics and fellow alumni, the Trust runs events for the community wherever in the world its members are.
- Gates Cambridge Weekend. A chance for Scholars past and present to reconnect in Cambridge — old friends, new faces, and the conversations that carry on long after.
- GatesConnect is the dedicated online community platform for Gates Cambridge Scholars, designed to help our global community stay connected, share experience and support one another wherever they are in the world. Bringing together Scholars across cohorts, disciplines, sectors and regions, GatesConnect offers a space to build meaningful connections, discover opportunities, exchange advice, access mentoring and continue conversations beyond Cambridge. It is a place where Scholars can reconnect with the wider Gates Cambridge community, find others working in similar fields or facing similar questions, and draw on the knowledge, generosity and experience of a truly global network.
Ways to stay involved
Alumni Scholars contribute to this community in all sorts of ways. Some serve as Trustees, helping shape the Trust’s direction at board level. Others join interview panels each year, helping choose the Scholars who follow them. Many return as guest speakers and event hosts, bringing their experience back into Cambridge or take part in Trust-run networking initiatives like 30 Minutes With, which pairs Scholars for a conversation outside their usual circles.
If you have any questions about the Gates Cambridge community, contact alumni@gatescambridge.org.
