Tahmid's story: Medicine, technology and unexpected opportunities
'I'm incredibly grateful to the people who have helped pave the way and I'm really, really excited to see what the next three years hold.'
When Tahmid came up three years ago, he expected to study medicine. Since then, opportunities made possible by Emmanuel’s supporters have enabled him to explore engineering, undertake research at Harvard, sing in the chapel choir, captain the men’s rowing team and develop his entrepreneurial skills. Together, these experiences have shaped both his time at Emmanuel and his ambitions for a career combining medicine and technology.
Growing up with a brother living with Down’s syndrome and autism, Tahmid saw the impact of compassionate healthcare up close, inspiring him to study medicine. With its distinctive third-year opportunity to explore interests outside the typical medicine curriculum, Cambridge's six-year medicine course gave Tahmid the breadth he sought, and Emmanuel's welcoming atmosphere, active student community and proximity to the medical school sealed the decision.
Exploring new perspectives at Harvard
During his second year, Tahmid was selected for Harvard PRISE, a highly competitive summer research programme at Harvard, which he spent at the medical school. There, he used advanced computational resources to design his own project in computational developmental neuroscience, focusing on autism diagnosis. The experience broadened his perspective on research and future careers and gave him the confidence to spend his third year studying engineering.
‘Previous Harvard PRISE scholars described the experience as life-changing,' he explains.
'Starting engineering felt daunting, but the prospect of spending the summer conducting research in information engineering and computational biology gave me the confidence to take on the challenge. Three years ago, I never imagined that studying medicine would lead me to maths and modelling.’
‘One day I'm testing optical fibres; the next, I'm building a flight control module. It's the kind of analytical challenge I never expected to encounter when I started studying medicine.’
Tahmid subsequently secured additional funding to return to Harvard in the summer. This support provided him with the time and resources to continue his project, bringing him a step closer to completing and publishing his research.
Building confidence on the river and in the chapel
Alongside his academic work, Tahmid sings in the chapel choir. Despite having no formal classical training, he successfully auditioned for a choral award and found friendships and interests that became an important part of his time at Cambridge.
The choral award made it possible for Tahmid to take part fully in the life of the choir, including tours, performances in cathedrals and major works such as Bach’s St John Passion. Alongside these musical experiences, it gave him lasting friendships and opportunities to travel and perform.
‘Through the choir, I was able to go on tour, perform in cathedrals and sing in some wonderful venues. Those opportunities were made all the more rewarding by the support of Graham, our Director of Music.’
'What stays with me most are the people I met and the experiences we shared.'
Rowing quickly became another important part of Tahmid's time at Emmanuel. After joining in his first year and overcoming injury setbacks, he was elected Men's Captain.
What stood out was the willingness of experienced rowers to help newcomers develop their skills and confidence. As captain, he was keen to build on that tradition and encourage wider participation.
'I thought the best way to give back was to help make rowing accessible to as many people as possible. As captain, it was rewarding to introduce people to the sport who had never rowed before.'
'It's not just about the performance of the first boat. It's also about supporting the wider club and helping others develop. That was something I really valued.'
Emma Enterprise and the value of entrpreneurship
Tahmid has also developed an interest in entrepreneurship, particularly in health technology. Through Emmanuel's Emma Enterprise programme and competition, he had the opportunity to explore that interest in practice.
Drawing on his experience of college rowing, he developed a digital platform designed to simplify the administration and scheduling of boat clubs. Working together with a management student, he entered the competition.
'The programme gave me a clear goal to work towards and helped me develop the idea further.'
Through workshops, mentoring and feedback, Tahmid and his teammates developed the project into a workable business idea. They finished as runners-up in the competition and received seed funding, enabling them to continue developing the platform and begin discussions with Cambridge rowing organisations.
'The competition was invaluable in developing business, communication and interpersonal skills. I'm excited to see where we can take the project next.'
Looking forward
As he moves into the clinical years of his medical degree, Tahmid hopes to bring together clinical practice, computational research and entrepreneurship in health technology. The opportunities he has pursued at Emmanuel have helped him see how those interests might form a single path.
Looking back, Tahmid credits Emmanuel and its supporters with giving him the freedom to pursue opportunities far beyond his medical studies. Research, engineering, music, rowing and enterprise have each helped him develop new skills, form lasting connections and shape his ambitions for the future.
'I'm very grateful to the people who have supported me along the way. Through Emma, I've been able to develop not just as a medical student, but also as a singer, rower and engineer.'
'The range of opportunities available has allowed me to explore interests and experiences that I hadn't expected to be part of my degree.'
