Grace Moore: Meet the Newest Recipient of the Michel David-Weill Scholarship

An unprecedented occurrence: Cambridge’ prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)—globally recognized for their programs in hard sciences (scientific and technological research)—backed the application of Grace Moore, one of their students, for the Michel David-Weill Scholarship. Hear more from the promising recipient. 

The Michel David-Weill Scholarship: A Springboard for Involved Students

This merit scholarship—one of the scholarship programs offered by Sciences Po’s American Foundation—seeks to attract particularly promising American students to obtain their Master’s degree from Sciences Po in Paris.

In order to benefit from this prestigious award (an 80,000€ value that covers registration fees, tuition, housing, textbooks…), one must embody the values that Michel David-Weill himself held dear. As a Sciences Po alumnus and president of the Foundation in his name, Michel David-Weill considered qualities of excellence, leadership, multiculturalism, and tolerance to be points of pride. The candidates for his scholarship are thus selected based on their academic achievements and their critical thinking skills, but also an uncommon capacity to carry out projects and to engage with their community on both a local and international level.

This year, the recent graduate of MIT’s Bachelor of Science in Materials Science and Engineering, Grace Moore, is the eleventh student to join the list of recipients since the scholarship’s creation. 

An Uncommon Opportunity to Combine Science and Public Policy

This brilliant student has championed a project that makes her stand out from the crowd as it toes the line between the hard sciences—her field of expertise—and public policy. This fall, she began a Master’s program in the School of Public Affairs (with a concentration in Energy, Environment and Sustainability).

“At MIT, one of my favorite courses was Industrial Ecology, in which I had the opportunity to do a project studying plastics with the idea of producing a circular industrial approach--producing and recycling plastic—which basically closes that loop, which is talked a lot about in science and in public policy making. However, something I definitely noticed in my project and studies in engineering is that it often feels like some innovations reach this blockade where they can’t be realised--they get stuck in a sort of quagmire of policy.” 

The intersection between subject matters is what excites her in her studies. “By no means would I call myself an expert, but I certainly have a fairly broad knowledge of the scientific side of things. So getting the background in policy is important for me to then reach that niche space that I’m interested in. “

“[Studying at Sciences Po] is an incredible opportunity and the Foundation Michel David-Weill was fundamental in enabling me to take that opportunity. I couldn’t be here otherwise. I’m so grateful. ”

Sciences Po’s international standing played a large part in convincing this brilliant student to pursue her studies here. “I've had speakers in my classes so far that are very relevant in the world of environmental policy, and that sort of access to world leaders is something I was very excited about.”

Grace Moore has also noticed that she has a unique background in the classroom, “It may seem a bit odd that an engineering student has ended up here, and believe me, in classes, we introduce ourselves and I’m the only engineering student at times. But for that same reason, there is something that I can add. It feels like there is often only the policy perspective in our debates, but if you’re gonna talk about innovation, you should probably involve the people that are innovating.”

This passionate, involved, and open-minded student is one whose path we will follow with interest, as we have no doubt that she will be capable of transmitting important messages and will follow a road that will lead her to make a significant and positive impact on the planet’s future.

The Sciences Po Editorial Team

Find out more

• The Michel David-Weill Scholarship 
• The Sciences Po American Foundation 
• The School of Public Affairs