The Cambridge Union

This weekend the Union joins with the nation in celebrating the coronation of His Majesty King Charles III. Following in the footsteps of his grandfather George VI, the King (then Prince) joined the Union while an undergraduate at the University in 1967. As future monarch, by convention the Prince could not take a position in proposition or opposition to any of the motions debated (in his words, ‘a slightly difficult position’ to be in). Yet in 1970 he was persuaded to make his maiden speech in the chamber from the cross benches, giving an extraordinarily prescient contribution about man becoming ‘creatures of technology’, debating alongside future Union President Arianna Huffington (née Stassinopoulos, founder of the Huffington Post). (Pictures 1-3) Like many of our life members do, he has since returned several times as an alumnus, notably delivering the Hugh Anderson memorial lecture in 1978 on ‘The Quality of Human Existence’. (4th picture) In 2009, he wrote the foreword to a book on the history of the Union authored by Lord Parkinson (5th picture). The Union is grateful for the continued patronage of our King. —— 📸 1 - HM arrives at the Union, accompanied by his uncle and former officer of the Union Lord Mountbatten. 📸 2 - Order Paper for the 1970 debate. 📸 3 - HM (lower centre) in the chamber at an earlier occasion. 📸 4 - Poster for the 1978 Hugh Anderson Memorial Lecture. 📸 5 - Foreword written by HM to ‘Arena of Ambition’. 📸 6 - The official Coronation badge, designed by the Union’s 2018 Professor Stephen Hawking Fellow Sir Jonny Ive. #coronation #coronationweekend #cambridgeuniversity

We are delighted to announce the release of the Easter 2024 Termcard! https://lnkd.in/e-_Neevw

We are delighted to announce the release of the Easter 2024 Termcard! https://lnkd.in/e-_Neevw

Last Thursday, for my final event as President of The Cambridge Union, I had the privilege of interviewing Jeremy Hunt, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in front of a packed chamber. It was a brilliant event - the Chancellor was extremely generous with his time and liberal with his thoughts. A particular thank you to Lord McDonald for helping organise the visit, as well as to our chair of trustees, Mohamed El-Erian, for attending and for his support over the term. This was a true highlight of my time at the Society, a time which has included some extraordinary opportunities, notably interviewing Ben Shapiro and Sam Altman, having lunch with Robert De Niro, convening one of the world’s largest schools debating competitions (ICYD), and meeting many other wonderful individuals, both students and public figures. Michaelmas at the Union this year has been rather excellent, and I must give a huge thanks to my team: Jasper Ostle, Mark Wadey, Johan Nerlov, Neha Pauly, Liliana Kimball Walker, Matthew Haskett and Alistair Mathieson for putting so much into it. In addition, Edward Hilditch, Stephanie Lewis, Helena S., Nordin Ćatić, Felix Esche, Leonas Pausch, Alesia Laci, Oscar Beechey-Newman, Neelkabir Varsha Kapil, Katie Clarke, Alex and the rest of Michaelmas Full Committee. Thanks also to the wonderful Union staff who have put up with me for such a long time, particularly Justyna Macoch, Freddie Turner, Joseph Burman, Christina F., Ben, Giuliana Berman, Chris Izatt, Adam Ganczakowski, Patience, Ella Cairns and John Brown. Over the two plus years I spent on committee at the Union I had the pleasure of working with eight other Presidents - James Vitali, Leti, Lara Brown, Christopher George, James Appiah and Max - and am immensely grateful for all their support, along with that of many others, particularly David Eagleson, Calvin and Ellie Breeze. A final thank you to Homerton College and Lord Simon Woolley, Monkton Combe School and Victoria Armand Smith for their advice and encouragement. I look forward to finishing off my law degree over the next few terms in a slightly more relaxed fashion! 📸 Nordin Ćatić

For the final event of Michaelmas term 2023, the Union looks forward to welcoming the serving Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Rt. Hon. Jeremy Hunt MP at 8 p.m. on Thursday 30th November in the chamber to deliver an address, followed by interview and Q&A. Holding the most powerful office after the Prime Minister, the Chancellor is responsible for all economic and fiscal matters of the country. Prior to being appointed Chancellor during the Truss administration, Jeremy Hunt served in a number of cabinet positions, including Culture Secretary, Foreign Secretary, and as the UK’s longest serving Health Secretary. The Chancellor joins us the week after delivering his 2023 Autumn fiscal statement. #Cambridge #CambridgeUnion #CambridgeUniversity University of Cambridge Mohamed El-Erian

With Sam Altman set to return as CEO of OpenAI, what's next for generative AI? 🤖 Watch Sam's speech at The Cambridge Union from earlier this month, where he covered advice to young people in the face of an AI revolution and what differentiates OpenAI from other companies. Sam Altman was at The Cambridge Union to accept the Stephen Hawking Fellowship, on behalf of the OpenAI Team upon whom it was bestowed. #AI #SamAltman #OpenAI

A few weeks ago I had the privilege of interviewing Sam Altman, the (currently former) CEO and Co-Founder of OpenAI the creators of ChatGPT and Dall-E. While serving as President of The Cambridge Union this term has been quite the challenge, it has created some truly extraordinary opportunities, the most rewarding of which has been managing this year’s Hawking Fellowship. The Fellowship was created by the Union and Stephen Hawking to provide a platform for individuals distinguished STEM to discuss social issues surrounding this field. This year we selected the OpenAI Team as the recipients of the fellowship, and it was an honour to welcome Sam to Cambridge to receive the fellowship on behalf of his team and deliver the Hawking Lecture. Throughout my conversations with him, I was struck by his humility and true passion for his company and vision, as well as of course his deep and far reaching insights into his field. The full recording of the event is linked below. My thanks must go to the Hawking family, particularly Jane and Lucy Hawking, to Mohamed El-Erian and to John Brown for their support throughout the fellowship year, as well as to all the student committee members involved in the event itself. 📸 Nordin Ćatić Homerton College Monkton Combe School Jonty Palmer Jeremy Palmer

The Union and the Professor Hawking Fellowship Committee are delighted to announce that the team behind OpenAI, the creators of Chat-GPT and DALL-E, have been jointly awarded the 2023 Professor Hawking Fellowship. The Fellowship Lecture will be delivered by Mr Sam Altman, CEO and Co-Founder of OpenAI, and will take place in the Union chamber on the evening of Wednesday 1st November 2023. The Hawking family commented the following: “We are very excited that the Hawking Fellowship at the Cambridge Union has been awarded to OpenAI this year. Our father Stephen was deeply engaged with issues around AI and its potential impact on all aspects of society in the future. Many of his early comments on the new technology were extremely prescient and have been often quoted over the past year. We believe he would have been strongly in support of this award which brings the founders of OpenAI to Cambridge to debate their work and share their insights with students.” #OpenAI #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #StephenHawking #CambridgeUniversity #CambridgeUnion #Cambridge

Congratulations to everyone who received their A-Level results today. We look forward to welcoming new members soon! For more information about the Union, head to our website via the link in our bio. 📸 Sanders & Jay