Welcome to the Rustat Conferences website.
The Rustat Conferences are an initiative of
Jesus College, Cambridge and provide an opportunity for decision-makers from the frontlines of politics, business, the media, and education to discuss the vital issues of the day with leading academic experts. The conferences also provide outreach to a wider professional, academic and student audience through the publication of reports in a variety of media.
In 2010-2011 the Rustat Conferences will address the following themes: Cyber-Security; Pressures on Philanthropy; and Food Security. In 2009-10 Rustat Conferences discussed the
Economic Crisis,
The Future of Democracy, and
Infrastructure & The Future of Society: Energy, Water, and Cities. For a list of previous participants see the
Rustat Conferences Overview section.
The Rustat Conferences were founded in 2009 and are named after Tobias Rustat (d.1694), an important benefactor of Jesus College, Cambridge and the University. Rustat is best remembered for creating the first fund for the purchase of books for the Cambridge University Library
The Science & Human Dimension Project.
This website is also home to the
Science and Human Dimension Project (SHDP), a public understanding of science, medicine and ethics programme, based at Jesus College, Cambridge. Since 1990 the project has attracted world leading scientists, philosophers, writers, journalists and broadcasters, running a broad range of conferences and lectures, details of which can be found on this site.