For Nobert Nyandire, his year at Darwin has been the realisation of a long-held dream.

After completing his undergraduate degree in Environmental Studies at Kenyatta University in 2007, Nobert wrote to Cambridge, Oxford and Harvard for information on postgraduate courses. The prospectuses Cambridge supplied lodged in his mind throughout the following two decades, while he pursued a career in climate change policy, working with the UN as well as launching his own national NGO translating policy into local action, and completing a Masters in Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Nairobi.

When the MPhil in Conservation Leadership was launched in 2019, Nobert encouraged his younger brother to apply, leading to his brother’s acceptance on the course in 2020. While in the UK for the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow the following year, Nobert visited his brother at Wolfson and met one of the course lecturers, who persuaded him to give his own Cambridge ambitions another shot.

“Climate change and conservation have always been treated separately in Kenya and globally, but to me there is synergy between them, which this course investigates,” he says. “I was doing lots of consultancy as well as policy work, so I had many responsibilities and giving it all up to study for a year was difficult – it took a toll on me. But I thank God that I took the opportunity.”

A taught programme open to students with at least three years of relevant experience and clear leadership potential, the MPhil brings together a global pool of conservation professionals, whose introduction to each other is an enormous additional benefit.

“There were 21 of us, so I had lots of professional introductions through my cohort. We were taught by different professionals in the field, and attended seminars and field trips, so there were so many networking opportunities. It really opened up my world.”

Nobert’s choice of College was also the fulfilment of a longstanding preference. On a trip to the UK in 2016 to attend a meeting at Wilton Park, he had visited a friend at Darwin and “fallen in love with it”. With a room in the Rayne Building, overlooking the street, he cherished the sense of interaction with the wider College and Cambridge communities.

Now applying to continue his studies and pursue a PhD, Nobert has meanwhile accepted a ten-month consultancy contract working for the US-based Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

“I’ve come to realise my dream after many years, and I don’t regret any of the journey. I’m very proud of myself.”

Nobert Nyandire will graduate on Saturday 26th October with an MPhil in Conservation Leadership.


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