The Dr S T Lee Public Policy lectures were established in 2003 thanks to a benefaction from Seng Tee Lee, Singaporean business executive, philanthropist and Honarary Fellow of Wolfson College, Cambridge. Each lecture considers aspects of scientific, medical or technological research and developments that are likely to have significant implications for public policy over the next decade.

Details and recordings of previous lectures can be seen by clicking on the links below

2024 -Professor Alondra Nelson, The Harold F. Linder Professor of Social Science at the Institute for Advanced Study: Earning public trust in evidence-informed policy

2023 - Professor Melissa Leach, Director, Institute of Development Studies: Naturekind: More-than-human communication, ecology and the politics of science and policy

2022 – Sheila Jasanoff, Pforzheimer Professor of Science and Technology Studies, Harvard Kennedy School: Democracy and distrust after the pandemic

2019 - Jacqueline Poh, Deputy Secretary, Prime Minister's Strategy Group, Singapore: Prospero’s Practicum: Conjuring the 4th Industrial Revolution on an Even Smaller Island

2018 - Professor K. VijayRaghavan, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India: Science, the fulcrum for social and economic change in India

2017 - Dr Geoff Mulgan, Chief Executive, Nesta: Can we be collectively intelligent about collective intelligence?

2016 - Professor Dame Anne Glover: Does the European Union need science advice?

2014 - Steven Chu, Professor of Physics and Molecular & Cellular Physiology, University of Stanford: Energy, climate change and sustainability - a necessity as the mother of many inventions

2013 - Professor Helga Nowotny, President, European Research Council: The odds for tomorrow - promises, policy and publics under conditions of uncertainty

Earlier lectures

2011 - Tachi Yamada, Outgoing head of the Global Health Program, Gates Foundation: Innovation in global health products and delivery

2008 - Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda: Building viable medical research communities in Africa: policy challenges

2007 - David Miliband, Secretary of State for the Environment: A future beyond oil

2005 - Sir David King, Professor of Physical Chemistry and Chief Scientific Adviser to HM Government: Science and technology for global sustainable development

2003 - Sir John Sulston: Exploiting science - private profit, public loss?