The first programme of its kind in Europe has been launched in Oxford to give leaders from every field the chance to continue learning, apply their experience to social impact and create new purpose in the next phase of their lives.
Oxford Next Horizons, which will welcome its first cohort of Scholars in January 2024, has been created by the Rhodes Trust, home of the world’s best-known graduate scholarship, and Harris Manchester College (HMC), the Oxford college dedicated to taking students, both undergraduate and postgraduate, aged 21 or over.
The six-month programme is aimed at people with successful, established careers who are at a significant turning point in their lives and interested in figuring out what comes next. It will give participants a mix of world-class expertise, debate and discussion, and support for individual projects.
Seminars and talks will include sessions with some of Oxford University’s most distinguished experts, including Sir John Hood, former Vice-Chancellor of the University, Professor Dapo Akande, Professor of Public International Law at the Blavatnik School of Government, Professor Sir John Bell, Regius Professor of Medicine, Professor Cameron Hepburn, Professor of Environmental Economics at the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, David Isaac, former chair of the UK’s Equality and Human Rights Commission, award-winning biographer Professor Dame Hermione Lee, Dr Janina Ramirez, historian and television presenter, Baroness Royall, former Leader of the House of Lords, Alan Rusbridger, former Editor of The Guardian, and Professor Sir John Vickers, Professor of Economics.
Oxford Next Horizons gives participants the opportunity to benefit from being part of a close-knit and interdisciplinary community at Harris Manchester College and the wider network of Rhodes Scholars and the other Fellowships at Rhodes House, including the Atlantic Fellows and Schmidt Science Fellows.
The programme will include:
- Personal exploration – what’s next for me?
- Engagement with the world’s biggest challenges and how Oxford’s leading thinkers are addressing them - what’s next for the world?
- Opportunities to learn from and build community with a cohort of peers, and to engage across generations
- A chance to recommit, to shape the impact you want to make – what’s next for me in the world?
The programme will be led by Professor Jane Shaw, Principal of Harris Manchester College, and Dr Elizabeth Kiss, Warden of Rhodes House and CEO of the Rhodes Trust.
Professor Shaw said: “As the only Oxford college dedicated to non-traditional age students it was natural for us to develop this programme for people who want to think deeply about their future and the future of the world.
“This programme will be the first of its kind in Europe and we hope it will lead people to develop their vision of how they can contribute to our world.”
Dr Kiss said: “We are thrilled to be able to invite people to Oxford to spend time reading, reflecting and thinking about the impact they can make in the future.
“For those who have enjoyed a fulfilling career and are keen to design a new chapter, this will be an opportunity to make inspiring new connections with peers, with a younger generation of students and scholars, and with some of the people who make Oxford’s research world famous. I can’t wait to welcome our first cohort and see where they go next.”
The first Oxford Next Horizons cohort will start in January 2024 but applications are open for those interested in joining the programme over the first three years’ cohorts. The deadline for the first admissions cycle is 8 January 2023
Generous funding from donors will provide some bursaries to help us create a cohort of people with diverse backgrounds and experience, ensuring that Oxford Next Horizons is a truly fulfilling and inclusive experience. We are grateful to Richard Sauber (Rhode Island & Lincoln 1973) and Pamela Sauber for their founding support of this initiative.
For details of the programme and applications process, please visit www.nexthorizons.hmc.ox.ac.uk or contact the Deputy Director, Mr Ashley Walters, at nexthorizons@hmc.ox.ac.uk.