NextGen Philanthropy Leadership Scholarship Program 2025

The Next Generation Philanthropy Leadership Program 2025 is back, and it’s bigger and better. Officially launching at Nanyang Technological University Business School, this jam-packed, fun-filled summer camp is designed for students aged 15–17 eager to tackle global issues head-on. Building on last year’s success, this year’s program delivers a dynamic mix of advanced leadership training, cross-cultural networking, and immersive learning experiences—all aimed at nurturing the leaders of tomorrow.

What truly sets this year apart is the enhanced global reach, deeper partnerships, and a fresh focus on AI-driven philanthropy. From hands-on volunteer projects and interactive workshops to face-to-face mentoring sessions with entrepreneurs and scientists, every moment is loaded with excitement and discovery. Participants will gain exclusive insights into using cutting-edge technology for innovative social impact.

This year’s program stands out through :

Expanded Global Partnerships
AI-Driven Philanthropy
Hands-On Learning Experiences
Critical Thinking & Communication

Teaching Resources

Richard Buttrey

Director at Arm, Cambridge's renowned tech company

Richard Buttrey is a Director in the Developer Eco-system Group at Arm, the world leader in semiconductor designs, and its IPO case is the largest in global history. Arm's primary business involves designing central processing unit (CPU) cores that implement the ARM architecture family of instruction sets, positioning it at the forefront of the industry chain.

In particular, he helps clients work their way through the strategy, innovation and leadership challenges that emerge when circumstances change, sometimes in an unpredictable way. Richard has designed and delivered a wide variety of largescale leadership programmes for both corporate clients and professional service firms. He draws inspiration from exemplars he has seen or been involved in. both successful and not, to show how humility in leadership is vital and that those organizations that are genuinely curious to learn always beat the rest.

Richard Buttrey is presently an instructor at the Moller Institute Cambridge, where his practical approach has earned him widespread praise from students. He possesses extensive experience in teaching youth scholarship programs and is deeply passionate and patient in fostering an exceptional younger generation.

Viswa Sadasivan

Founder & CEO, Strategic Moves, Former Nominated Member of Parliament, Singapore

With 30+ years in media and public policy analysis, renowned for independent thinking and incisive interviewing style, he's moderated 300+ policy forums worldwide. Specializing in corporate strategy, policy engagement, crisis leadership, and innovation, he holds a Master's in Public Administration from Harvard University, excelling in Negotiation and Conflict Resolution.

Dr. Yonatan Bisk

Assistant Professor, Carnegie Mellon University

Dr. Yonatan Bisk is an Assistant Professor at Carnegie Mellon University's Language Technologies Institute (LTI) and Robotics Institute. His research focuses on the intersection of natural language processing (NLP), robotics, and embodied AI, with an emphasis on enabling machines to interpret and act upon language in the context of physical and social environments. Dr. Bisk's work advances theory of mind and embodied language systems, exploring how language interacts with vision, action, and reasoning.  

 Dr. Bisk earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, focusing on unsupervised grammar induction, and held postdoctoral positions at USC’s Information Sciences Institute, the University of Washington, and the Allen Institute for AI. He has worked as a visiting researcher at Microsoft Research and Meta AI. At CMU he founded the REAL Center (Robotics, Embodied AI, and Learning), which aims to foster interdisciplinary collaboration across the university in Robot Learning and AI/ML.  

At CMU, Dr. Bisk teaches courses such as "Talking to Robots," and "Multimodal Machine Learning," and "On-Device Machine Learning." He is actively involved in service to the research community, including roles as an (senior) area chair or editor across the NLP, Robotics, Machine Learning, and Computer Vision communities. Through his teaching, research, and outreach, Dr. Bisk is helping to shape the future of embodied AI and its applications in understanding and interacting with the world. 

Dr. Catherine Breslin

Founder and CEO, Kingfisher Labs

Dr. Catherine Breslin is a leading AI consultant, researcher, and speaker with over two decades of experience specializing in speech and language technology, machine learning, conversational AI, and AI strategy. She holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge and has a distinguished background in both academic research and industry leadership, including pivotal roles at Amazon Alexa, where she advanced conversational AI and voice recognition technologies.

As the founder of Kingfisher Labs, Catherine guides organizations through the complexities of AI adoption, offering expertise in developing AI strategies aligned with business goals, evaluating and improving AI models - including in voice and language technology - providing leadership coaching for AI teams and executives, and delivering keynote talks and workshops on AI trends, ethics, and innovation. Catherine’s career is marked by her ability to bridge cutting-edge AI research with real-world impact, making her a sought-after advisor for businesses, researchers, and executives navigating the rapidly evolving landscape of artificial intelligence.