Expanded scholarships are sending more top maths and science talent to the world’s best universities.
4 December 2025 - The second cohort of 47 Global Talent Fund (GTF) BIG Talent Scholars have begun their studies at a growing roster of the world’s best universities. This is 57% larger than last year’s inaugural class, with even higher admissions standards.
GTF BIG Talent Scholars now provides more choices for students. Two top French universities have joined the GTF BIG Talent Scholars community – the first international expansion. Further expansion is also underway – GTF is already working with additional Cambridge partners (list below) to select the class that will start in September 2026.
The GTF BIG Talent Scholars have demonstrated extraordinary achievement by winning medals at international maths and science Olympiads. These rigorous global high school competitions are the best known predictor of who will advance the knowledge frontier.
Global Talent Fund co-founders Ruchir Agarwal and Patrick Gaule said:
“The very best maths and science minds, and the world’s top universities, come together in GTF BIG Talent Scholars. These students are also writers, adventurers, and teachers in their own right. Above all, they are deeply curious problem-solvers who want to unleash their minds on humanity’s great challenges. We are excited to give them even more opportunities to study at the very best colleges and universities in the UK, and now France.
Previous Olympiad medallists have won Nobel Prizes, created artificial intelligence as both founders and researchers, and driven economic and technological progress. We are proud to support the next generation of world-changing talent. And we’re excited to work with a growing set of top universities to help these students realise their nearly limitless potential.”
Aino Aulanko, a GTF BIG Talent Scholar from Finland studying Maths, said:
“I set my sights on Ecole Normale because I was looking for challenges and ENS offers them – both difficult courses and studying in a new language. Earning a silver medal at the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) helped me get there, and the GTF BIG Talent Scholarship means I can afford it. ”
Vedant Sakre, a GTF BIG Talent Scholar from India and International Biology Olympiad gold medallist, said:
“I've been fascinated by biology since Grade 6. Now I get to study Natural Sciences at Trinity in Cambridge. It’s a dream come true since Trinity was home to a lot of great intellectuals I admire, like Newton, Byron, and Hodgkin. I also acted in several high school productions of Shakespeare, and want to act in and direct other plays at university as well.”
Mohamed Yassine Chebil, a GTF BIG Talent Scholar from Tunisia and IMO bronze medallist studying Maths and Computer Science at Oxford, said:
"I wasn't a 'prodigy' as a child, so getting into Oxford didn't feel real to me. Now, I can't wait to deepen my understanding of advanced mathematics and explore new topics like machine learning, learning from some of the best professors in the world. And back home in Tunisia, I aspire to change how students are taught – with a focus on teaching them how to think critically rather than just preparing for exams.”
Meet all the GTF BIG Talent Scholars: see bios, interviews, and photos at globtalent.org/gtf-big-talent-scholars/bios.
GTF BIG Talent Scholars was established thanks to a founding donation and strategic support from leading algorithmic trading firm XTX Markets, and operates in collaboration with our partner universities:
- The University of Cambridge: Trinity College, Christ's College**, St John's College**, King's College**, and Trinity Hall**
- The University of Oxford: St John’s College
- Ecole Polytechnique*
- Ecole Normale Superieure*
- The University of Bristol
- The University of Edinburgh
- Imperial College London
- The University of Warwick
*New partner starting 2025
