One of Cambridge University’s largest colleges has launched a new initiative to prepare students to take on some of the world’s most pressing challenges.
St John’s College has developed The Common Good Programme to encourage its 1,000 students to explore cultural, social and ethical questions while gaining hands-on experience in public and community life.
Heather Hancock, Master of St John’s, said: “We are living through a time of profound global change. By encouraging our students to be outward facing while they are studying at Cambridge, they will graduate even more ready and able to help find solutions to complex national and global challenges.
“St John’s has always been a place where ideas meet action. From William Wilberforce’s campaign to abolish the slave trade to generations of leaders in science, business and public life, we have a long history of educating people who have changed the world.
“The Common Good Programme continues that legacy, and it responds to what we hear from our students - that they want to use their time at Cambridge not only to explore the big ideas and problems of our age, but to learn how to make a difference.”
The free and wide-ranging scheme will combine keynote lectures by leading public figures, workshops, charity partnerships, and engagement with civic leaders and MPs.
St John’s will encourage students to grapple with some of the most pressing and urgent needs society faces - from homelessness, inequality and poverty to the ethical questions raised by science and artificial intelligence.
“We will create space for big conversations and bring in voices from a spectrum of viewpoints”
Through a partnership with Citizens UK, students will take part in workshops and projects that develop practical skills in community organising, volunteering, and leadership. Participants will connect to Parliament and with local government and learn how to engage well with people who have different opinions.
The Rev’d Canon Dr Victoria Johnson, programme co-director, Dean of Chapel and Fellow of St John’s, said: “We plan for this programme to be a springboard for students to think beyond their studies and consider how they might use their talents and education to make a real-world impact.”
The common good is an established idea that people thrive not only as individuals but as part of a wider community and that education, talent and opportunity should be used to benefit others as well as the individual.
Dr Johnson explained: “Students will be given the tools and the opportunity to think about the kind of society they want to be part of building and the practical opportunities to act on those ideas. We will create space for big conversations and bring in voices from a spectrum of viewpoints to ask ourselves what it means to contribute to society in 2025 and beyond.
“The programme will enhance the co-curricular experience by helping our students develop and extend their intellectual and cultural horizons to widen and deepen their understanding of the world they will step into.”
The multi-faceted scheme will allow students, academics and staff to engage at different levels. People can build their own experience by attending events as a one-off or by participating in the full programme.
As well as citizenship and outreach activities, the initiative includes a faith strand to prepare students for life after graduation by increasing their knowledge and awareness of religious and cultural diversity.
“It is a real sign of hope that so many of our students express that they want to make a difference”
It features a themed Evensong sermon series, and plans are underway for a symposium in 2026 to bring together academics and thought leaders to debate the idea of the common good.
The Rev’d Graham Dunn, programme co-director and Chaplain of St John’s, said: “Society can feel fractious and unsettled, but it is a real sign of hope that so many of our students express that they want to make a difference. University is the perfect place to ask ourselves the big questions about the kind of people we want to be and the kind of impact we want to have. The Common Good Programme is our response to those conversations.”
The Common Good Programme builds on more than 500 years of St John’s alumni driving change and innovation, from Thomas Clarkson’s and Wilberforce’s campaign to abolish the slave trade, to the work of Sir Harpal Kumar who will deliver the inaugural keynote lecture drawing on his leadership in cancer research.
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