FIRST PERSON: ‘I love Maths even more than I did before university’

First-year Trinity Maths student Vera Lavrova grew up in Russia and Germany, where she practised her problem-solving skills in many maths Olympiads, before deciding to apply to Cambridge.

Vera is funded to study by the Backing Ingenuity for Growth (BIG) Programme, which supports students at leading UK universities, including Cambridge. She shares her experience of studying here.

Sometimes studying at Cambridge feels like a dream, and that I’ll wake up any second. Living in such a historic place – walking through Great Court every day, studying in the library – feels magical. I can now call Cambridge my home, and after two years of moving around, I’m really happy to have found one.

What has surprised me the most are Cambridge’s traditions – especially the formal dinners. When I was a child, my grandad told me stories about events like these, but I never imagined attending one myself. Wearing gowns, sitting at long tables, enjoying food and conversation – it makes me feel like I’ve travelled back to the eighteenth century. So, in a way, I think time travel is already possible in Cambridge.

Just the idea of studying at Cambridge was exciting – I never even thought I would have a chance like this. But the choice still was tough. It was not only a choice of university, but also a choice of country – whether to stay in Germany or move somewhere new, where I didn’t know anyone.

In the end, the biggest factor was the atmosphere and the people who would surround me, both students and professors. I wanted to be in a place where I would be inspired and challenged, not just academically but also by the people around me. Cambridge felt like the perfect environment for that.

I’m really enjoying the course, even though it’s quite challenging. In mathematics, we have only four courses per term and two lectures a day, which at first glance may not seem like a lot. However, the Cambridge system requires a great deal of self-study: there’s a lot of material to review, plus weekly problem sets to solve and write up. Supervisions, where a professor or PhD student goes through your solutions, answers your questions, helps you develop a deeper understanding of the subject.

I think this system prepares you well for the future: it develops self-discipline, teaches time management, and encourages collaboration with other students. Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses and helping each other is essential.

After almost two terms, I can say I love Maths even more than I did before university. I enjoy a lot of things apart from maths – I love reading with a cup of green tea, adore rabbits, and really enjoy dancing and hiking. So, in my spare time I try to spend time with maths and non-maths students, have coffee at my favourite cafés, read books, and take long walks. These small rituals help me stay balanced and remind me there’s life outside my degree. Cambridge also offers a huge variety of lectures on all kinds of topics. Sometimes I attend lectures on curing cancer, poetry, twentieth-century art or whatever else sparks my interest.

One of the feelings Cambridge gives you is: “If you work hard and have a pinch of luck, all doors will be open to you.” I can see myself either in pure science, conducting research, or in industry, applying my knowledge in a more practical way. The only thing I know for sure is that I want to enjoy what I do – and make the world at least a little bit better.’

The BIG Scholars Programme is a collaboration between the Global Talent Fund, XTX Markets and UK universities – Oxford, Bristol, Edinburgh, Warwick, Imperial and Cambridge. The BIG Scholars Programme provides full-need scholarships as well as internships and other opportunities.

Global Talent Fund: BIG Scholars