A unique new proposition launches at ICE this September. The full-time Better Futures programme convenes the power of Cambridge to help accomplished leaders spark positive change in the world. We meet the programme’s Academic Director to find out more.

Life’s pathways don’t always take you in the direction you expect. Take Stewart McTavish, ICE’s Academic Director of the new Cambridge Better Futures programme.

Stewart studied Computer Science at Cambridge – but only after making a bet with a teacher who said he wouldn’t get in. As an undergrad, Stewart was initially more interested in pursuing a glittering squash career, but a final-year entrepreneurship course opened a series of new, off-court pathways that he couldn’t pass up.

Several entrepreneurial ventures later, Stewart returned to successfully pitch a new kind of University of Cambridge venture, and ideaSpace was born.

“Universities are great at generating new ideas that people and businesses can build upon,” says Stewart. “My pitch was to create a space where people looking to discover a business model, or opportunity could learn together and share the experience.”

ideaSpace still flourishes, although Stewart moved on to establish a venture capital fund. But now he’s back to set up the Better Futures programme, applying the idea of a “community of discovery” to an even earlier stage of the ideation process.

Curate a Cambridge network for good

Run jointly by the Centre for Better Futures, at Downing College, and the Institute for Continuing Education, the new Better Futures programme will equip accomplished individuals to create transformative social impact by putting the world-class power of Cambridge at their service. It’s the first year-long programme of its kind in the UK.

“The programme is designed for people who’ve had leadership success – whether in business, policy, non-profits or something else – and who are looking to explore or refine a new life phase that enables them to create even more value for themselves and wider society,” explains Stewart.

Beginning this September, a cohort of distinguished peers will spend a year at the University of Cambridge – at the Centre, in departments and as college members – fully immersed in the University’s ecosystem. With support from a departmental academic host aligned to each individual’s pathway, they’ll engage with leading academics and access cutting-edge knowledge.

The learning framework, led by ICE, encourages participants to re-assess their skills, capabilities and motivations, explore major societal opportunities and craft personalised impact pathways to guide their future direction. Candidates must be ready to reflect, learn and sharpen their focus for what lies ahead and be intellectually curious, collaborative thinkers.

Define your own path and purpose

Recognising the clear value of ICE’s peer-learning model, Stewart notes that the course team is “building a cross-disciplinary, multi-generational community because bringing different types of people together helps them make the biggest impact.” And with the rapid pace of workplace change, he’s also aware that even the most successful leaders now need to reskill for multiple career pathways throughout their lives.

“Increasingly, universities are places to refine your lifelong impact, and ICE’s expertise in enabling people of all backgrounds to do that makes it such a great home for this programme,” believes Stewart.

“If you’ve had a successful initial career and are looking to pause and reflect on what the future could look like, we want to help you invent your next future. By harnessing your own experience and this University’s incredible academics, networks, colleges and teaching – including ICE’s extensive portfolio of adult learning – there’s enormous potential to achieve something transformative.”

Unlock your full potential, forge the future

Right now, the Better Futures team is inviting anyone interested in the programme to get in touch as it discusses possible pathways with its first prospective participants. “What could the next 10 years of your life look like?” wonders Stewart. “In a year’s time, I’d love to have a cohort of students all progressing towards real, impactful transformation in their chosen worlds. I hope they’ll have discovered just how deeply university learning can change the world with them.”

Where might your next pathway take you? For more information on the new Better Futures Programme click here

And if it isn’t quite your thing, there are lots of different ways to inspire your future world at ICE. Discover our huge range of part-time courses – from online and weekend courses to postgraduate Master’s degrees here