cambridge summer school essay competition

Essay Competition FULL PARTICIPANT GUIDE | 2022 - Immerse ...

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Extra-curricular success at Immerse Education: Read the stories of 100% scholarship winners!

Immerse Education essay competition winners were awarded 100% scholarships to summer schools in Cambridge, Oxford, London and Sydney. The next round of free competition is open until 4th January 2023.

Back in 2021, 14-year-old Kornelia’s school in Poland invited her to take part in a competition hosted by Immerse Education. The rules were simple - write a 500 word essay, answering a subject-specific question set by the educational summer school company Immerse Education.

“I was so taken aback, I could not believe what I was seeing! On my way back from school I decided to open my emails, not expecting much in all honesty. Immerse’s name popped up and I stopped.”

Kornelia, quoted above, was one of ten students per year awarded a 100% fully-funded scholarship, and joined the Immerse Education programme in 2022.

When students are invited to take part in an essay competition, it can often feel as though they are putting a lot of effort in for something that may never happen. For scholarship winners like Kornelia, Pedro, Riya and Noor, this thought had also crossed their minds. It’s a lot of work, on top of school assignments, to make time to go through the process of writing a university-style essay.

Noor also won a 100% scholarship, attending the Law Academic Insights programme in 2022.

The essay that Noor wrote was in response to the question ‘What is an example of modern slavery?’. A sensitive and nuanced topic such as this one made Noor stop to think - making sure to create a carefully considered answer.

“I found out about the essay competition through my school in Pakistan. When I read about the prizes that participants could win I was surprised. The essay prompts for all the subjects were genuinely fascinating and thought provoking, which made me want to write an essay even if I didn’t win.”

Essay writing is a skill which, like any other skill, needs to be practiced and developed over time. Critical thinking and constructing persuasive arguments which are also backed up with water-tight research is a skill that many students struggle to master, making this free-to-enter competition a fantastic way to develop essay writing skills outside of school.

We spoke to a member of the Immerse Education essay competition team about how they choose the winning essays.

“We receive thousands of competition entries every year from students all over the world. Marked anonymously by our panel of expert tutors, each essay is given careful consideration, and a score based on impact and clarity amongst a variety of other aspects that make an excellent essay. We’re thrilled to be able to give this opportunity to everyone, and it’s great to meet the scholarship winners when they attend the programme of their choice in the summer”

The essay competition is running again in 2022 and 2023, and is open to all students, from anywhere in the world. The competition offers the opportunity for students to practice their essay-writing skills, with essay questions on over 25 topics. Although the 100% scholarship prize is only awarded to 10 winners, Immerse Education also awards runners-up with partial scholarships of up to 50% off their summer school.

You can read both Noor’s and Kornelia’s story and a selection of other 100% scholarship winners here .

Learn more about the Immerse Education Essay Competition here . The current competition closes on the 4th of January 2023.

DISCOVER ST HELEN’S

We invite you to join us for our 2024/2025 series of open events

• St Helen’s Student Awarded Cambridge University Summer School Scholarship

Our Year 11 student, Esha has won an essay competition and was awarded a partial scholarship from Immerse Education to join their 2023 English Literature Summer School at Cambridge, one of 24 prestigious universities in the Russell Group.

Esha’s entry into the Immerse Education Essay Competition was picked from over 10,000 student’s work from across the globe. Her writing on literary features was described as, ‘an elegant argument in favour of the metaphor’.

As my HIP challenge this term, I really wanted to engage in something for English, so when I read through the challenge list, I immediately was drawn to the Immerse Essay Competition. Looking at the videos and stories of the past successes of students from around the world was inspiring, and the large range of questions available meant that I could write about a topic that intrigued me. Subsequently, I chose the question, ‘Which literary features do you find to be the most powerful and why?’ Although the question was an open one, I quickly decided to choose the metaphor as the most powerful literary device and went on to include two examples: fire in the Latin novel ‘Echo et Narcissus’, and sickness and healing in the Shakespearean play ‘Macbeth’ (English). As the word limit was only five hundred words, I struggled to condense my essay at first, and in the process went through many drafts. The bibliography and footnotes in the style of the Oxford referencing guide took very long to construct, yet I knew learning this type of essay formatting would be useful in the future. Overall, I really enjoyed writing it. About a month after submitting the essay, I was sent an email. I had been selected to receive a scholarship to the English Literature Summer School at Cambridge University! Over the whole of January I had been checking my emails constantly awaiting a response, so upon receiving this news I was so excited and thrilled to know that my work had paid off. I would undoubtedly encourage anyone in Senior School to enter next year! I would like to thank my teachers Mrs Williams and Ms Ahmed for their guidance and direction.

Oxford and Cambridge University Summer Schools welcome ambitious and motivated students. This is an opportunity to gain valuable insights into university life, learn to prepare for the future and to study alongside peers from around the globe. Students thrive through one-on-one tutorials from expert university tutors.

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Scholarship

The next call for scholarship essay competition applicants from the general public will be in autumn 2024 for the summer of 2025. Full details will be released in autumn 2024 on www.reachcambridge.com/scholarship .

Reach Cambridge is committed to providing opportunities for promising students who would otherwise be unable to attend our programs. For many years Reach Cambridge has offered a variety of scholarships to individual students and through our valued partners all over the world.

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Peterhouse Kelvin Biological Sciences Essay Competition

The Peterhouse Kelvin Biological Sciences Essay Competition aims to give students the opportunity to explore scientific concepts and topics beyond the classroom, and to engage with scientific research.  

**The 2024 Peterhouse Kelvin Biological Sciences Essay Competition has now closed.

You can see the information about the competition below.

To read a selection of the winning essays from 2024, please click here .

We will publish information about next year's competition in early 2025.**

Who can take part?

The Kelvin Biological Sciences Essay Competition is open to students in their penultimate year of study (Year 12 in England and Wales, S5 in Scotland, Year 13 in Northern Ireland, or equivalent) who are educated in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Please make sure that you have read the submission guidelines and FAQs sections carefully before entering.

Submission Guidelines

Your essay should be no more than 2,000 words including footnotes and appendices on one of the four questions listed below. You should include a bibliography and ensure that all sources are referenced. The bibliography is excluded from the word limit. We know that not all students will be familiar with referencing, so you might find the following page from the University which includes a Guide to Harvard Referencing helpful ( https://libguides.cam.ac.uk/Official-Publications/referencing ) . Any other standard system of referencing style is also acceptable. Please note that all work should be your own, should not be produced by Artificial Intelligence, and should not include any work that has been or will be submitted to an exam board as part of your studies. The main focus of your essay should not be material previously or currently being studied as part of your school courses.

There is a maximum of four entries per school, preferably across the range of questions. Please note that this limit does not apply to Sixth Form Colleges where year groups are over 1000 students in size. All entries must be approved by a teacher, so please make sure a teacher at your school knows that you are entering. On the submission form you will be asked to provide a name and contact information for the teacher who will be supporting your application. If more than four entries are submitted by one school, we will contact the referees at this school to let us know which submissions are to be considered. Schools with lots of potential entrants may wish to run their own internal competition before the chosen answers are submitted to us for consideration.

 We are unable to consider any essays which have not been submitted by the deadline.

Your essay must be submitted as a PDF. Please ensure that all pages in your essay are numbered, and that your name and school appears clearly on the first page. You should name your PDF file in the following format: Question number-Surname-First Initial e.g. Q2-Smith-T. Your teacher will then receive an email from Peterhouse asking them to confirm that you are eligible and that your essay complies with our guidelines. 

Kelvin Biological Sciences Essay Competition Questions – 2024

• Why do duckbill platypuses fluoresce under UV light?
• Mitochondria are always shown as ovals; in reality they come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Why?
• Why are there so few venomous mammals and no birds, whereas there are so many venomous reptiles?
• Reintroduction of ecosystem engineers (e.g. beavers) can have major impacts on the environment. What species would you reintroduce (or introduce) to the British Isles and why has this not been done already?

Can I answer more than one of the four questions for the 2024 Kelvin Essay Competition?

We ask that students only submit one essay per person.

Can I make any changes once I have submitted my essay using the above form?

Please note that once you have submitted your entry it is not possible to make any changes – please ensure you are happy with your work before pressing ‘submit’.

Will I receive feedback on my essay?

Unfortunately, due to the high volume of submissions, it is not possible to provide feedback on individual essays.

Why do I need to include contact information for a teacher at my school, and who should this be?

After you submit your essay we get in touch with a contact at your school so that they can confirm you are eligible for the competition, and that the essay is your own work. This can be any teacher at your school who knows you, for example, the Head of Biology, one of your subject teachers, your form tutor, or your Head of Year.

The competition has a prize pool of £750, which will be shared between the winners. Winners will be contacted by email - please make sure your contact details are entered correctly! A prizegiving ceremony will be held in Cambridge in the summer.

If you have any further questions relating to the competition, please email us at [email protected] .  

Fall 2024 Admissions is officially OPEN.  Sign up for the next live information session here .

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Immerse Education Essay Competition 2024 (Fully Funded)

• Deadline January 4, 2024
• Region United Kingdom

• Fully Funded

Applications are open for the Immerse Education Essay Competition 2024. Are you also one of the students who want to attend the Immerse Summer School in Oxford, Cambridge, Sydney, or maybe London? The Immerse Education Summer School Essay Competition 2024 is now accepting applications. The essay competition  allows students aged 13 to 18 to submit essays in response to a pre-determined question about their selected subject.

The Immerse Education Essay Competition 2024 is open for young people interested in all subjects, from Architecture to Medicine, or Creative Writing to Film Studies, and this is the essay competition for the applicants if they want to show off their academic abilities! This competition provides a chance to win a full scholarship for summer school in the UK. This is an amazing opportunity for young students to  study in the UK  for free.

The Immerse Education Essay Competition provides the opportunity for students to submit essay responses to a question of their choice that is related to their subject of interest. In their full Essay Competition Guide, there are over twenty questions to choose from. In this fully funded essay competition, 10 winners will receive a 100% scholarship to study for free at the world’s top university of their choice. Some outstanding runners will receive partial scholarships of up to 50% to study with Immerse in their chosen subject. The number of runners-up is dependent on the number of entries received. It also depends on the quality of the work submitted. Usually, immerse selects around 7% of entrants to receive different scholarship funding to attend the fully funded Immerse program.

The Immerse Essay Competition 2024 is a unique opportunity, that will help students win free education abroad. It is a chance for young individuals to try their luck and get fully funded or partially funded scholarships just by winning this essay competition. Furthermore, it also provides an opportunity for students to learn from top mentors in top institutes. By learning directly from professionals in immersive environments, immersive education equips motivated students worldwide with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in the future.

Immerse also helps these individuals in essay writing by providing them with a full essay-writing guide. This guide includes a list of essay questions, required essay specifications, referencing guidance, top tips for writing an academic essay, terms and conditions of the program, and guidance on plagiarism. Moreover to help students they also provide webinars, which provide top tips and guidance from their experts. So what are you waiting for? Apply for the Immerse Essay Competition and win a chance to attend summer school in the UK. Share it with your friends and schoolmates, as sharing is caring.

• The fully funded Immerse Essay Competition 2024 is an opportunity for young individuals to compete in an international competition.
• Further, the international essay competition is free to enter.
• Students will get a chance to be part of international summer schools for free and learn from top mentors from all over the world.
• Win a 100% scholarship to attend summer school at Oxford, Sydney, Cambridge, London and many more.
• The top 10 winners will receive a full scholarship.
• Runners-up will receive a partial scholarship of up to 50% waiver to study their desired subject.
• The program will provide free support to the applicants in essay writing by providing them with essay-writing guides and webinars.
• An opportunity to build and enhance your essay writing skills.
• A chance to study in top institutes worldwide.

Eligibilities

• First and foremost, the essay competition program is open to applicants of all nationalities.
• Applicants must be 13 to 18 years old during the summer of 2024.
• Furthermore, they can only make one entry at a time to be eligible for the fully funded essay competition.
• Only the first one will be evaluated if the applicant submits entries for more than one subject.

Application Process

• The application process is entirely online. Click the  Apply Now  button below submit your essay for the immerse essay competition.
• At first, applicants must submit the Immerse Education Essay Competition Entry For

After that, they must submit essay applications in the format provided below :

• A single PDF document must be submitted for each entry.
• It must be double-spaced and in Times New Roman font.
• It is best to use font size 11 for the application.
• The file of the applicant must be anonymous.

Application Deadline: January 4, 2024

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Fitzwilliam College Essay Competitions

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Fitzwilliam College is delighted to announce its 2023 Essay competitions. This year there will be essay competitions in Ancient World and Classics , Archaeology , History , Land Economy , and Medieval World . We will additionally be running an Architecture design competition, and a new essay competition in Economics for state-schooled UK students only.

Further particulars and this year's questions can be found at the links below. Please read the competition rules and submission guidelines carefully before entering a competition. We also recommend you visit the Fitzwilliam College website, to check details about each competition before submitting your entry.

• Ancient World and Classics
• Archaeology
• Economics  (for state-school UK students only - please see link for details on eligibility)
• Land Economy
• Medieval World
• Architecture  – students wishing to enter the Architecture Design Competition may find this  plan of Fitzwilliam College  and information on the  history of Fitzwilliam’s buildings  useful

The deadline for all competitions is  6pm  on  Wednesday, 1 March .

Competition rules - full rules on Fitzwilliam College Website

These essay competitions are exclusively for students in their penultimate year of education (Year 12 in England and Wales, S5 in Scotland, Year 13 in Northern Ireland). They are open to students in any country but submissions must be written in English.

Submissions should strictly adhere to the word limit set out in the subject brief (2500 words for Archaeology, Classics & Ancient World, History, Land Economy and Medieval World; 1500 words for Economics; 500 words for the Architecture narrative), and contain a bibliography at the end. The word count should exclude the bibliography, but include any footnotes. Each page should be numbered and contain the applicant's full name.

Submission guidelines

Anyone who wishes to enter an essay competition must complete the online form   here .

Submissions can be uploaded to the online form in a PDF format. If the file size is too big to upload to the form, please email your submission to  [email protected] . We can also accept entries by post. Please address postal submissions to: Schools Liaison Officer, Fitzwilliam College, Storey's Way, Cambridge, CB3 0DG.

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Harvard’s Institute of Politics Announces Fall 2024 Resident Fellows

Introduction

CAMBRIDGE, MA - The Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School today announced the appointment of six Resident Fellows who will join the IOP for the Fall 2024 semester. The fellows bring diverse experience in politics, elected office, polling, journalism, and economic development to address the challenges facing our country and world today.

"We are thrilled to welcome this Fall's cohort of Resident Fellows to Harvard to engage and collaborate with our students and community, and to get their thoughts and insight in the final few months of this year's historic election. Their diverse experiences will no doubt inspire our students to consider careers in public service and prepare them to provide essential political leadership in the months and years ahead," said IOP Director Setti Warren .

"We are excited to have such a remarkable group of Fellows at the IOP this Fall. They bring varied perspectives on how to best approach some of our country's most consequential challenges, and I am confident our students will gain important insight into the fields of politics, civic engagement, journalism, and more," said Michael Nutter , Chair of the Institute of Politics' Senior Advisory Committee, and former Mayor of Philadelphia.

"We are thrilled to welcome the incredibly accomplished members of the 2024 Fall Fellows Cohort as we begin the fall semester prior to the incredibly important U.S. election. As we close out the 'biggest election year in history,' our world remains in the throes of a major period of democratic backsliding. American voters, including many Harvard students, will once again face the possibility of reactionary backsliding and threats to fundamental rights. Closer to home, we are keenly aware of the threats to free speech on campus. While this semester will bring renewed challenges to and debates concerning those fundamental rights, we are hopeful that study groups will remain a source of vibrant, productive, and gratifying discussions on Harvard's campus. In that spirit, this semester's cohort of Fellows will bring in critical perspectives from the varied worlds of governing, policymaking, polling, reporting, and campaigning to equip students with the tools necessary to create a better tomorrow. We are confident that this cohort of Fellows will help this program to remain a bastion of freedom of speech and civil discourse on Harvard's campus," said Éamon ÓCearúil ‘25 and Summer Tan ‘26 , Co-Chairs of the Fellows and Study Groups Program at the Institute of Politics.

IOP Resident Fellows are fully engaged with the Harvard community. They reside on campus, mentor a cohort of undergraduate students, hold weekly office hours, and lead an eight-week, not-for-credit study group based on their experience and expertise.

Fall 2024 Resident Fellows:

• Betsy Ankney: Former Campaign Manager, Nikki Haley for President
• John Anzalone: One of the nation's top pollsters and strategists, and founder of Impact Research, a public opinion research and consulting firm
• Alejandra Y. Castillo: Former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development
• Asa Hutchinson: Former Governor of Arkansas and 2024 Presidential Candidate
• Brett Rosenberg: Former Director for Strategic Planning, National Security Council and Deputy Special Coordinator for the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, Department of State
• Eugene Scott: Host at Axios Live, and former reporter who has spent two decades covering politics at the local, national and international level, including at the Washington Post and CNN

Brief bios and quotes can be found below. Headshots are available upon request.

Betsy Ankney Ankney is a political strategist with over 15 years of experience on tough campaigns. She has been involved in campaigns and Super PACs at the national and state level and played a role in some of the biggest upsets in Republican politics. She has been an advisor to Ambassador Nikki Haley since 2021, serving as Executive Director for Stand for America PAC and most recently as Campaign Manager for Nikki Haley for President. After starting with zero dollars in the bank and 2% in the polls, the campaign defied the odds, raised $80 million, and Nikki Haley emerged as the strongest challenger to Donald Trump. Ankney served as the Political Director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee for the 2020 cycle. She advised senate campaigns across the country, working directly with candidates and their campaigns on budgets, messaging, and fundraising. Prior to her work at the NRSC, Ankney managed multiple statewide campaigns, including Bruce Rauner for Governor in Illinois and Ron Johnson for Senate in Wisconsin. For her work on Ron Johnson’s race, she was named “Campaign Manager of the Year” by the American Association of Political Consultants for 2016. Ankney got her start in politics at the 2008 Republican National Convention and served in various roles at the Republican National Committee as well as on multiple campaigns and outside efforts. She serves on the boards of The Campaign School at Yale and The American Association of Political Consultants. She is from Toledo, Ohio and attended Vanderbilt University.

"I am honored to be a part of the fantastic program at the Harvard Institute of Politics. As we enter the final stretch of one of the wildest and most unpredictable election cycles in modern history, I look forward to having conversations in real time about our political process, what to look for, and why it matters." – Betsy Ankney

John Anzalone Anzalone is one of the nation’s top pollsters and messaging strategists. He has spent decades working on some of the toughest political campaigns in modern history and helping private-sector clients navigate complex challenges. He has polled for the past four presidential races, most recently serving as chief pollster for President Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign. In that role, he helped develop the messaging and strategy that drove paid communications, major policy rollouts, speeches, and convention thematics. He has also polled for the campaigns of President Obama and Hillary Clinton, and has helped elect U.S. senators, governors, and dozens of members of Congress. Anzalone works with governors across the country, including current Governors Gretchen Whitmer (MI) and Roy Cooper (NC). He polls regularly for the Democratic National Committee, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Senate Majority PAC, and AARP. With more than 30 years of experience in message development and strategic execution, he has been called on by key decision-makers, executives, and CEOs to provide counsel in a changing world and marketplace. He has extensive experience using research and data to break down complex subjects into digestible messages that resonate with target audiences. He grew up in St. Joseph, Michigan, and graduated from Kalamazoo College in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He is married and has four children, two dogs, and lives in Watercolor, Florida.

"After a 40-year career in politics I am so excited to give back by sharing and mentoring politically active and curious students, but also to have an opportunity to learn from them myself. During the next three months we will be living the 2024 elections together in real time. There is nothing more exciting than that regardless of your political identity." – John Anzalone

Alejandra Y. Castillo The Honorable Alejandra Y. Castillo was nominated by President Biden and sworn in as U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development on August 13, 2021, becoming the first women of color to hold this position. Ms. Castillo led the Economic Development Administration (EDA) between August 2021-2024 through an unprecedented moment of growth and opportunity. As the only federal agency focused exclusively on economic development, she guided EDA’s the implementation of over $6.8 billion dollars in federal funding, powering EDA and its mission to make transformational placed-based investments to support inclusive and equitable economic growth across America. Spanning over two decades of public service and non-profit work, she has served in three Presidential administrations --Biden, Obama and Clinton. Her career has also included a drive to shattering glass ceilings and providing inspiration to multiple generations of diverse leaders. Castillo is an active member in various civic and professional organizations, including the Hispanic National Bar Association, the American Constitution Society, as well as the Council on Foreign Relations. Castillo holds a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from the State University of New York at Stony Brook; a M.A. in Public Policy from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin; and a J.D. from American University, Washington College of Law. A native of Queens, NY., the daughter of immigrants from the Dominican Republic.

"I am excited to join this Fall semester IOP Fellowship class and have the opportunity to engage with students and faculty members across the University. The IOP fellowship presents a great forum to discuss and evaluate the future of U.S. industrial strategy and economic growth in light of the historic federal investments in place-based economic development during the last three years. I am honored to join my colleagues in making this an exciting and informative semester for students." – Alejandra Y. Castillo

Asa Hutchinson Governor Asa Hutchinson is a former Republican candidate for President of the United States. He served as the 46th Governor of the State of Arkansas and in his last election, he was re-elected with 65 percent of the vote, having received more votes than any other Republican candidate for governor in the State’s history. As a candidate for President, Hutchinson distinguished himself as an advocate for balancing the federal budget, energy production and enhanced border security. He also was a clear voice for the GOP to move away from the leadership of Donald Trump. Hutchinson’s time as governor is distinguished by his success in securing over $700 million per year in tax cuts, safeguarding the retirement pay of veterans from state income tax, shrinking the size of state government, creating over 100,000 new jobs and leading a national initiative to increase computer science education. The Governor’s career in public service began when President Ronald Reagan appointed him as the youngest U.S. Attorney in the nation for the Western District of Arkansas. In 1996, he won the first of three consecutive terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. During his third term in Congress, President George W. Bush appointed Governor Hutchinson to serve as Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration and later as the nation’s first Undersecretary of Homeland Security for Border Protection. He is a former Chairman of the National Governors. He grew up on a small farm near Gravette. He and his wife, Susan, have four children and seven grandchildren. Governor Hutchinson is currently CEO of Hutchinson Group LLC, a security consulting firm.

"After 8 years as Governor it is time to teach and mentor. I am honored to have the opportunity this fall to share my experiences and perspective but to also learn from the students and my colleagues who will also be resident fellows at the IOP. The timing is historic with our democracy facing a critical choice this fall as to the direction of our country." – Asa Hutchinson

Brett Rosenberg Rosenberg is a foreign policy expert who has served in the White House, Department of State, and Senate. During the Biden Administration, Rosenberg was the inaugural Deputy Special Coordinator for the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, President Biden’s and the G7’s flagship program designed to meet infrastructure needs in low- and middle-income countries. At the White House, Rosenberg served on the National Security Council as Director for Strategic Planning, working on shaping and realizing approaches to issues spanning from international economics to Western Hemisphere engagement, as well as helping to write the National Security Strategy. Prior to her service in the Biden administration, Rosenberg was Associate Director of Policy for National Security Action, where she remains a senior advisor. Rosenberg began her career in Washington as a legislative aide to then-Senator Kamala Harris, where she advised the senator on a range of domestic and economic policy issues. Rosenberg is a Nonresident Scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and her writing has appeared in outlets including Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, The New Republic, and McSweeneys. She received her A.B. in History from Harvard College and her PhD (DPhil) in International Relations from the University of Oxford, where she was a Rhodes Scholar.

"What a privilege it is to be part of this incredible community in this incredible moment. I can't wait to learn from the students, faculty, and other fellows as we dive in together to discuss some of the most pressing issues facing the United States and the world." – Brett Rosenberg

Eugene Scott Eugene Scott is a host at Axios Live, where he travels the country interviewing political and policy leaders. He was previously a senior political reporter for Axios covering 2024 swing voters and voting rights. An award-winning journalist, Scott has spent two decades covering politics at the local, national and international levels. He was recently a national political reporter at The Washington Post focused on identity politics and the 2022 midterm election. Following the 2020 presidential election, he hosted “The Next Four Years,” then Amazon’s top original podcast. He also contributed to “FOUR HUNDRED SOULS: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019,” which topped the New York Times’ bestseller list. In addition to writing, Scott has regularly provided political analysis on MSNBC, CBS and NPR. Scott was a Washington Correspondent for CNN Politics during the 2016 election. And he began his newspaper career at the Cape Argus in Cape Town, South Africa not long after beginning his journalism career with BET News’ “Teen Summit.” Scott received his master’s degree from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and his bachelor’s from the University of North Carolina Hussman School of Journalism and Media. He is a D.C. native and continues to live in the Nation’s Capital.

"Learning from and with the professionals that visited the IOP during my time on campus was one of the highlights of my time at the Kennedy School. I am eager to help lead students in understanding the press and this country as we navigate the final weeks of arguably the most consequential election of our time." – Eugene Scott

Additional information can be found here .

About the Institute of Politics Fellows Program The Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School was established in 1966 as a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy. The Institute’s mission is to unite and engage students, particularly undergraduates, with academics, politicians, activists, and policymakers on a non-partisan basis to inspire them to pursue pathways in politics and public service. The Institute blends the academic with practical politics and offers students the opportunity to engage in current events and to acquire skills and perspectives that will assist in their postgraduate pathways.

The Fellows Program has stood as the cornerstone of the IOP, encouraging student interest in public service and increasing the interaction between the academic and political communities. Through the Fellows Program, the Institute aims to provide students with the opportunity to learn from experienced public servants, the space to engage in civil discourse, and the chance to acquire a more holistic and pragmatic view of our political world.

For more information on the fellowship program, including a full list of former fellows, visit: iop.harvard.edu  

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2020 Essay Competition Winner – 16-18

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Read one of this year’s winning entries to the Immerse Education Essay Competition from the Architecture category.

Congratulations to all participants and in particular to the 10 winners of 100% scholarships!

Why is Norman Foster so well regarded?

The purpose of a building is one of those core definitions that architects, engineers, and designers have been in dispute about for as long as the word has existed. At first, it meant shelter. Then, as society developed and specialized, a building took on the duty of hosting tools, fireplaces, books, cars, machinery, and — perhaps most importantly — people. Architect Norman Foster expanded the definition further, explaining that, “a building is a focus of energies” (Foster, 2011). This phrase defines the work that he and his company have worked on throughout the decades, his projects and name becoming prestigious and respected in the architecture community. It is through his signature ‘high-tech’ style that Norman Foster is able to create open, sustainable, and utilitarian spaces that integrate into their surroundings.

One of the first buildings that brought international acclaim to Foster was the Willis Faber and Dumas Building in Ipswich. His design challenged the layout of a typical workspace by focusing on the relationships between workers themselves and to their environment (Arch2o). By placing escalators in a three-story building, creating a roof-top garden, and constructing solar-adjusting floor-to-ceiling windows, Foster established a space where all employees interact regardless of status, showcasing the vibrant energy of a working community in one. Foster gives a flexible and fluid structure to his buildings, underlining the power of democracy in a workspace and community (Foster and Partners, 2002).

The techniques that Foster has applied to his structures reflect the issues of the late 20th and 21st centuries. Brutalist architecture was on a rise in a post-world-war era, where the approach to reconstructing cities and towns was more economical and industrial rather than stylistic and individual. Foster addressed this issue through his usage of lightweight materials, open space, and simple construction. For example, when designing the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, he designed a simple tube-like figure with see-through walls, allowing for an open space with natural lighting and the potential to expand and manipulate the interiors. While conforming with the demands of a war-torn and more technical society, Foster added the human factor into his ideas, confronting the stereotype that high-tech buildings could only be crude and aggressive (Drexler, 1980).

Furthermore, Foster also responded to the rising awareness of climate change and the need for sustainable infrastructure by installing a fluid relationship between the building and its surroundings (Zukowsky, 2006). Nowadays, his projects feature the same key features: open, light spaces, green areas, and easily maintainable structures. Foster and Partners’ recent design of a 12-acre site in Washington DC, for example, features a collection of four multi-service buildings in a dense space, reducing the site’s overall emissions. Each building also has a rooftop garden, each designed to collect and reuse 100% of the water (Foster and Partners, 2014).

In the end, Norman Foster has revolutionized the way building was perceived by drawing the link between society and buildings. He was one of the pioneers of high-tech architecture, and has shown that architecture is more than just a pleasing design, but a means to create or destroy empathy and spirit within a community. “The interesting thing is that when those boundaries were taken down, nobody wanted to put them up again” (Ravenscroft, 2019) – how it affects the people inside.

Why Apply To The Immerse Education Essay Competition? 

Are you a highly motivated student aged 13-18? Have you ever wanted to experience studying in Cambridge or Oxford? 

The Immerse Education essay competition allows you the chance to submit an essay for the chance to be awarded a scholarship to the award-winning Cambridge summer school . 

How To Apply To The Immerse Education Essay Competition? 

The Immerse Education annual essay competition is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to win a scholarship to a Cambridge or Oxford summer school . 

If you’re aged 13-18 and you’re interested in applying to the Immerse Education essay competition then please visit our essay competition page for more details.

Bibliography

Beard, Alison. “Life’s Work: Norman Foster.” Harvard Business Review, Mar. 2011, https://hbr.org/2011/03/lifes-work-norman-foster . Drexler, Arthur. Transformations in Modern Architecture . The Museum of Modern Art: Distributed by New York Graphic Society, 1979. “Home: Foster Partners.” Architectural Design and Engineering Firm, www.fosterandpartners.com/ . Parvin. “Willis Faber and Dumas Headquarters: Fosters and Partners.” Arch2O.Com , Arch2O, 7 Sept. 2019, www.arch2o.com/willis-faber-dumas-headquarters-fosters-partners/ . Ravenscroft, Tom. “The Willis Faber & Dumas Building Is a Revolutionary High-Tech Office.” Dezeen , Dezeen, 13 Dec. 2019, www.dezeen.com/2019/12/10/willis-faber-dumas-building-foster-high-tech-architecture/ . Woodman, Ellis. “Norman Foster: Building an Empire.” The Telegraph , 15 Aug. 2011, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/8698243/Norman-Foster-Building-an-Empire.html . Zukowsky, John. “Norman Foster.” Encyclopædia Britannica , Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 28 May 2019, www.britannica.com/biography/Lord-Norman-Foster .

There were over 5000 entries to the Immerse Education Essay Competition 2020. Return to our blog over the coming months as more winning entries are published.

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