Just two years after publicly launching in September 2016, the It’s All Academic campaign to raise £600m in philanthropic income for ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº had hit a total of £480m for priorities including student support, major capital projects including the New Student Centre, research areas such as cancer and neuroscience, and emerging cross-disciplinary opportunities like artificial intelligence and ¹û¶³Ó°Ôºâ€™s new Institute of Innovation and Public Purpose.Ìý
The Campaign has so far raised £117m to support ¹û¶³Ó°Ôºâ€™s neuroscience research alone, with recent major donations including a £2m award from the Wolfson Foundation and £3m donated by Hong Kong based alumna Cathy Lee – one of ¹û¶³Ó°Ôºâ€™s biggest single donations from Asia to date.
Other vital areas of ¹û¶³Ó°Ôºâ€™s strategy supported by the Campaign include student support and experience, with significant funds raised for scholarships such as the new ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº Research Opportunity Scholarships, designed to support doctoral level students from BME groups that are underrepresented in academia.Ìý
It’s All Academic is a cross-¹û¶³Ó°Ôº fundraising campaign that brings the unique leverage of philanthropy to bear on some of ¹û¶³Ó°Ôºâ€™s biggest long-term ambitions and catalyse the novel and disruptive thinking that traditional funding sources struggle to reach. The Campaign is also growing and engaging ¹û¶³Ó°Ôºâ€™s active world-wide alumni community, with a target of reaching 250,000 volunteering hours – representing alumni giving their time to support ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº, current students and each other.
Image: Cathy Lee. Image credit: Office of the Vice Provost (Advancement)