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Bill Gates receives honorary doctorate in Sweden(Associated Press WorldStream Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) STOCKHOLM, Sweden_Bill Gates on Wednesday accepted an honorary doctorate in medicine during a ceremony at the medical university Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm. The university gave the Microsoft founder and his wife Melinda Gates honorary doctorates in recognition of their support of scientific work on global health issues through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. "They have made an active and long-term contribution to improving human health where the need is greatest," Karolinska Institutet said in a statement. Melinda Gates could not take part in the ceremony, due to engagements with the foundation in Mali. Bill Gates said he was looking forward to start working full-time for the foundation in the middle of this year, as he scales back his work at Microsoft. "I am hoping that what I learned in my software career, I can apply also in this career and to some degree achieve the same success," he said. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation supports health care in poor countries and funds research on effective measures to deal with large global health problems. To date, the foundation has paid out US$7.8 billion (?5.4 billion) in grants for global health. Copyright ? 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |