Gates alumni meet in Berlin despite volcanic travel chaos

  • April 20, 2010

Despite the necessary cancellation of the planned main Inaugural European Gates Alumni Meeting due to the pan-European travel disruptions, a small number of Gates Alumni reunited in the German capital...

Despite the necessary cancellation of the planned main Inaugural European Gates Alumni Meeting due to the pan-European travel disruptions, a small number of Gates Alumni reunited in the German capital for an informal, yet no less stimulating meeting on 16-17 April.

Ironically, under that ominous, yet invisible cloud of volcanic ashes, outstanding weather allowed for a gentle stroll through some attractive quarters of the city as well as for extended conversations in spring sunshine on the Saturday.

On Friday, even in the absence of the Cambridge delegation and many participants from abroad, the drinks reception and dinner at Restaurant Oxymoron went ahead as planned. The small group of Gates alumni from Germany and Denmark were joined by a sizeable contingent of Wolfson and Fitzwilliam alumni based in Germany and, in particular, Berlin. Many participants expressed a hope for further alumni activities on the European continent, such as the planned Inaugural Gates Alumni Meeting in Berlin which is now expected to take place at a later date.

Gates Berlin

Latest News

Ultrabilitation: a partnership approach to enhancing human possibility

The human endeavour is driven by dreams, for to dream is to exist boundlessly in ways both triumphant and terrible. So fundamental are dreams that, from first breath, we are […]

Giving Gates Cambridge Alumni a voice

“There was a sense of urgency and optimism,” recalls Andy Robertson [2001] talking about how the Gates Cambridge Alumni Association first began to take shape. While the seeds of the […]

Scholar wins $5m award for maths non-profit

Gates Cambridge Scholar Ilana Walder-Biesanz is one of five recipients of a $5 million Bezos Courage & Civility Award for her work to encourage outstanding budding mathematicians to reach their […]

Building the Gates Cambridge community

“I cannot emphasise enough how much of a jazz performance it all was, how we were making it up as we went along,” says Rob Perrons, Class of 2001, about […]