Deborah Prentice: what's in store for Cambridge University?

Chris - A very good friend of mine who used to run radio networks and things said, 'you're only really effective for your first few years in a job, because after that the problems become your friends.' So now's your chance to have a good shake-up. Are there any things that you are eager to shake up in your initial tenure?

Deborah - I mean, I think your friend is sort of right, although I'm hoping that the problems don't actually become my friends. But there's something to that, there definitely is. For me coming in, I think Cambridge does have some problems that I hope to solve. They're not existential. Cambridge is actually doing brilliantly, I think, honestly. But that said, it is a huge institution that has come through the pandemic and difficult financial circumstances in the sector and in the country. So yeah, we have some work to do. And I'm hoping that we can try to improve our employee value proposition, improve what we have on offer for our staff, for example, because we feel we've fallen behind in some areas. The industrial action that we faced is a good wake up call to that. So that's work that's under things like that, we're tackling. And then some incredible opportunities. Opportunities to bring together all that the university has to contribute to the climate crisis opportunities to grow our innovation ecosystem and partner export it in some sense. Partner with other institutions to grow that nationally in the country. So I see the opportunities are huge and I want to seize those too. It's not just the problems that I want to solve, but I do want to solve some problems.

Chris - How about doing more science communication? Something we try and strive to do?

Deborah - Science communication, we have a fabulous communications office actually that has been working hard on getting out the news of the incredible array of scientific discoveries that come out of Cambridge every day. I read the clips every day with my morning coffee. It's one of the best parts of the day to see what my colleagues across the university are producing. So yeah, I mean, science I think in general, telling Cambridge's story to the world, all of Cambridge's stories to the world is a huge priority. It meets so many of the goals that I've just described, right? It communicates to students that they should come, it communicates to researchers that we're open for partnering. It communicates what we care about and the problems that we want to help solve. So communication is actually at the heart of so much of what we do.

Chris - I'm delighted to hear that The Naked Scientists can therefore rely on your support going forward.

Deborah - Absolutely. You've got it.

Chris - Now, earlier on in this interview, I said 'would the 17-year-old, 18-year-old you recognise the you of today?' If we go back to that point, what would you say to 17 or 18-year-old you now, if you had them sitting here in front of you, would you give them any advice?

Deborah - Fortunately, because I have actually taught throughout my career and advise students throughout my career, I've very often have had the 17 or 18-year-old me in front of me. And I don't so much give them advice, except to tell them actually to do what they love. I tend to think that human motivation is the most valuable quality, certainly at a university, at an organisation like the University of Cambridge, it is. Because these are brilliant people and whatever it is that they want to apply their brilliance to, the most important thing is that they do it with their whole heart and their whole mind. And that's what I feel about our students as well. Whatever it is that gets you out of bed in the morning, whatever it is that to which you can bring your whole heart and your whole mind, go for it. Do it. And follow the path that leads from there. It may be a winding one. You may have jobs, it may send you off to a place you never expected to be but, hey, I'm in a place I never expected to be and I couldn't be happier.

Chris - Debbie Prentice, thank you very much.

Deborah - Thank you so much.