The Impact of Your Giving
Report to donors 2019-2020
FOREWORD
'The COVID-19 pandemic has shone a harsh light on crises throughout the world that have long needed addressing. It has shown up inequalities, divisions, discrimination, and the dangers of ignoring the limits of our planet.
But it has also demonstrated what can be achieved when people and organisations work together for the common good. Nowhere has this been more apparent than within our own Oxford Saïd community. While the spread of COVID-19 meant that we did not hold our usual annual Giving Day in 2020, alumni and friends of the School were active in donating to the Dean’s Response Fund and other projects that were established to support responses to the pandemic.
Your generosity over the past year, involving gifts of money, time, and expertise, has made it possible for us both to respond to the immediate crisis and to sow the seeds of future recovery. The students we teach, the leaders we develop, the start-ups we nurture, and the knowledge we create all have their place in building forward for a better world tomorrow.
More than £10 million was raised in new funds in the academic year 2019-20 from our whole community. This was in addition to the continued, valuable support of our long-term donors, including the Saïd Foundation and Skoll Foundation, and allows us to amplify and increase the impact of the important work we are undertaking together.
Thank you for everything that you have contributed, which, as this report shows, has already had an appreciable impact. And thank you for continuing to work with us and support our aim of creating a more sustainable, inclusive, and prosperous world.'
Peter Tufano
Peter Moores Dean, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford
COVID-19
'At Oxford Saïd, as in streets and neighbourhoods across the world, it was inspiring to see our community come together to help address some of the problems created by the Coronavirus pandemic.
Our immediate priorities were to look after the health and safety of all, and to support our students in finding new ways to give them the enriching experiences that the widespread lockdown had denied them. But we also wanted to make sure that the spirit of entrepreneurship at the School endured, and produced innovative, practical, and scalable solutions in areas affected by the virus. And, importantly, we aimed to offer more scholarships for the next academic year, so that we could continue developing the leaders who will build forward and create a better world for us all in the future.
Although – in common with many in the higher education sector – we had to work hard to mitigate the financial effect of the crisis, we remained true to our commitment to play our part in the wider community. We helped Oxford City Council by accommodating homeless people in Egrove Park during the first UK lockdown, as well as supporting our partner charity, Homeless Oxfordshire, throughout the year.'
Sara Beck
COO, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford
Supporting students and businesses through the Oxford Saïd Service Corps
More than 30 students from the 2019-20 year joined the Oxford Saïd Service Corps, a student-led initiative to replace cancelled internships and consultancy projects while helping a range of businesses and nonprofits that were themselves affected by the pandemic. The Dean’s Response Fund, created in June 2020, paid students a living wage, allowing them to increase their practical knowledge and apply what they learnt on the MBA programme. Meanwhile, the organisations they worked with, many of which would not normally be able to afford to pay interns themselves, benefited from their energy and new ideas.
'Students and young people have been hit hard by the consequences of the pandemic. I was delighted to support the Oxford Saïd Service Corps, which was an imaginative and proactive way of enriching students’ experience in a very difficult time.'
Will de Lazslo,
MBA 2008
'Many students have spent their entire career in professional services. If it weren't for the Oxford Saïd Service Corps, these students, myself included, would not have gained first-hand experience in working for purpose-driven companies including NGOs, impact funds, and start-ups. I am proud to have served as a leader of this initiative, and to have participated in the programme.'
Vera Argyle,
MBA 2019; Oxford Saïd Service Corps Leader
'We’re proud to be an Oxford Saïd Service Corps partner, and are incredibly thankful for the MBA student who’s been working with us over several weeks, assisting in how we serve our membership in the future to our fullest potential. This work is critical as National Youth Theatre continues to engage with local, national, and international young communities to give them opportunities, structure, creative and emotional support, and the chance to be part of something bigger.'
Kirsten Komaru
National Youth Theatre of Great Britain
Image credit: National Youth Theatre workshop with Black Ticket Project. Photo by Ali Wright.
Helping the spirit of entrepreneurship to endure
The Foundry COVID-19 Action Plan
The Oxford Foundry COVID-19 Action Plan was launched in April 2020. It brought together a global network of more than 70 experts, 180 volunteers, 17 public and private sector partners, and a £120,000 start-up grant runway fund to support ventures in the OXFO portfolio that were already adapting in the light of the pandemic. In addition, more than 100 students and alumni from across the University applied to join the OXFO COVID-19 Rapid Solutions Builder programme, which focused on launching and scaling practical solutions to the secondary and tertiary problems linked to the crisis.
OXFO ventures have helped GPs connect securely with millions of patients; allowed individuals to navigate crowds; improved communication with the families of people in care homes; supported parents, schoolchildren, and students in the new world of home-learning; and contributed to the development of effective testing and tracing systems worldwide.
'At this time of global crisis, we all need to be leveraging on our respective communities and creating new ways for us to conceive and build the frameworks that our post-COVID society will need in order to function and flourish again. I'm heartened by the Foundry's swift and intelligent response to these huge societal challenges, and optimistic that the impact generated from this initiative will be deep and far-reaching.'
Reid Hoffman CBE
Co-founder, LinkedIn; Internet entrepreneur; Investor; Senior Advisor, Oxford Foundry
One of the Oxford Foundry’s portfolio ventures, healthtech company Ufonia refocused its AI-telemedicine solution towards supporting the huge backlog of clinical procedures cancelled due to COVID-19 and automating post-surgery review. Ufonia is now live at Buckinghamshire Hospital NHS Trust helping manage the follow-up of patients with cataract surgery – the most common surgery in the world. A formal academic study of the system is due to start in Oxford University Hospital in early 2021, and further clinical use cases are being developed with other hospital sites. Ufonia has raised a pre-seed round of £170k from angel investors introduced by the Foundry, and secured grant funding of over £1.6m from Innovate UK and NIHR among others. The Foundry connected Ufonia to multi-disciplinary student volunteers to accelerate their R&D activities, four of whom are now core paid team members.
'The Oxford Foundry has really come through for us. With their help, support and connections, we’ve been able to move fast, embrace the challenges, and to turn this crisis into an opportunity to grow and scale up while making what we hope is a real positive difference to many people.'
Dr Nick de Pennington,
Founder and CEO, Ufonia
CDL Recovery
The Creative Destruction Lab (CDL), a global not-for-profit science and tech start-up mentoring programme located in major universities including Saïd Business School, created this new programme to address the public health and economic recovery challenges created by the global COVID-19 crisis. (See the Entrepreneurship section for CDL’s other work with Oxford Saïd.)
As well as supporting the mentoring programme, Oxford Saïd is using Crowdmanager, a customised app produced by CDL Recovery start-up Crowdless, to help students maintain distance while using social spaces on campus.
Crowdless was also supported by the Foundry. Previously named Lanterne, it had won best postgraduate idea in the Foundry’s All-Innovate competition 2019.
'This is the first official use of our app in an educational setting. I hope it will give students greater peace of mind as they participate in social activities.'
Alex Barnes
DPhil International Development 2017; Co-founder and co-CEO, Crowdless
The Liber Project
The Liber Project, created by Oxford Saïd’s Entrepreneurship Centre, connected 129 student and alumni volunteers with 35 UK start-ups, scale-ups and SMEs, allowing our community to support these organisations with investor relations, marketing, and strategy. The Project also provided masterclasses and advice from Saïd Business School faculty as well as expert practitioners.
10k Small Businesses
The Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses programme (10KSB)—a joint initiative between Saïd Business School and Goldman Sachs Foundation—took immediate action to support programme alumni, small businesses across the UK, through the crisis.
Within the first months of the pandemic (March–May 2020), 10KSB launched Reimagining Business, an innovative support programme featuring timely webinars, weekly coaching sessions, and faculty insights tailored for quick and practical action. Reaching over 450 participants from diverse regions and sectors, Reimagining Business equipped alumni with essential strategies for recovery and growth. Close to 80% of programme participants intended to make moderate to significant changes to their pre-pandemic business models.
'This course helped me to crystallise my thoughts, identify solutions, and steer my business through a very difficult time.'
Participant
Reimagining Business
LEADERSHIP
'Leadership development is a key part of Oxford Saïd’s mission to support business in addressing the world’s most pressing problems. The urgency of these problems has been highlighted by the pandemic and by the widespread desire to use the crisis as an opportunity to ‘reset’ the economy and society. We develop future leaders through the MBA, other degree programmes and Executive Education; equally importantly we challenge and encourage current leaders to stimulate change and transform the business landscape to prioritise people and planet. What we do – teaching and research – obviously contributes to this, but also where we are. Our progress towards transforming the old power station in Osney into a Global Leadership Centre is progress towards stronger connections with the rest of the University, towards an even richer, more thoughtful, more active leadership development experience, and towards a more responsible, rounded, and humane leadership model for the world.'
Andrew White
Associate Dean for Executive Education
Saïd Business School, University of Oxford
Global Leadership Centre
Our plans to convert Oxford’s first electricity plant, Osney power station, into a Global Leadership Centre – a teaching and residential centre for our executive education programmes – were approved in September 2019.
Building work is ongoing, with initial stages covering the rather unglamorous internal safety work. But we are delighted that executive education alumni in particular are engaged with the project and see it as an opportunity to share more widely the enriching experiences that they have already gained at Oxford.
John Butler, who took the Diploma in Organisational Leadership, and Hasmukh Patel, who completed his EMBA in 2019, have both named rooms in the new building to commemorate their gifts. Steve Yamshon, who participated in the Oxford Advanced Management and Leadership Programme (OAMLP) in 2013, has named a room in honour of retired OAMLP director Lalit Johri.
'As my wife and I thought about the rationale concerning our contributions to Saïd Business School, and the Global Leadership Centre in particular, the following quote from Churchill sums up our feeling most appropriately: "What is the use of living, if it be not to strive for noble causes and to make this muddled world a better place for those who will invest in it after we are gone."'
John Butler
Diploma in Organisational Leadership 2013; Alumni Advisory Council
Engaging with the Humanities
Engaging with the Humanities remains a core part of our leadership research and teaching at every level, including the MBA elective Leadership Lessons from the Humanities and our open-enrolment and custom programmes for executives.
The Art at Oxford Saïd programme of exhibitions and talks in the School, supported in 2019-20 by the de Laszlo Foundation, not only contributes to creating an enriching environment, but strengthens our relationships with the local community, who are invited to the talks and curator-led tours.
Over the last year our research focusing on museum leaders has provided useful insights for leaders in every sector as organisations have grappled with urgent social forces, including the pandemic and a variety of issues highlighted by the Black Lives Matter movement.
'Art belongs in the workplace and in educational institutions even more than in galleries. It is stimulating, challenging, and inspiring. The Art at Oxford Saïd programme is one of the many things that makes the School so special.'
Will de Laszlo
MBA 2008; de Laszlo Foundation
'Learning about leadership through the lens of human expression was eye-opening … The humanities do an effective job at telling stories of leadership in the past, exposing and contrasting different styles of leadership as well as drawing lessons for how "humanness" can be used to lead both ourselves and others.'
Khayalethu Makhubu
MBA 2019
WIDENING PARTICIPATION
'There are no boundaries to knowledge and there should be no barriers to learning. Our range of scholarships means that the very best students, whatever their financial background, can benefit from an Oxford Saïd education. Saïd Business School Foundation scholarships can be awarded on the basis of past professional achievement as well as academic success, and recognise future leadership potential.
Scholarships also allow us to ensure that a wide range of perspectives and experiences are represented in our community and in our classes. Students learn and broaden their horizons by working with their peers from different sectors, different countries, and with different motivations and backgrounds. They can be inspired to change direction, to support and encourage others, or return to their own environments with greater awareness of how the rest of the world works.
Thanks to the generosity of donors who have supported our push for a balanced cohort on every level, we have increased the proportion of women studying for our MBA to 44%; 13% of our students are from Africa – the highest representation of that continent in any European business school; and we benefit from the views and knowledge of a large number of students who come from non-profit organisations, arts organisations, and other non-traditional MBA backgrounds. The Skoll Scholarships, for example, support MBA students who pursue entrepreneurial solutions for urgent social and environmental challenges.
We hope that this diversity of background will increase further as, during the year, we were delighted that the Laidlaw Foundation agreed to fund eight new MBA scholarships for women from under-represented backgrounds in the next academic year.'
Rhonda Hadi
Associate Professor of Marketing and Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford
Africa scholarships
Through providing scholarships for African students we aim to contribute to nurturing and developing the talent that is key to ensuring the long-term economic growth of the continent overall. Our African scholars bring valuable insights and new perspectives to MBA classes. They are also important ambassadors for their home countries, educating our community about the diverse cultures, challenges, and opportunities across the continent, and strengthening connections within the global business network. There are currently around 20 scholarships available specifically for students from Africa, including Saïd Business School Foundation scholarships. New scholarships announced in 2019-20 include the Hasmukh Patel Scholarship for the EMBA and the Eni-Oxford Africa Scholarship for the MBA.
'As a Mozambican I have first-hand experience of how a quality education allows individuals, families and communities to redefine their futures. The University of Oxford’s Executive MBA is crucial to fulfilling my objective of preparing myself for success and contributing to the development of my country. The Hasmukh Patel Scholarship is a catalyst for growth.'
Helio Cumbi
EMBA 2020; Hasmukh Patel Scholar
The Grace Lake Scholarship
'The Grace Lake Scholarship has not only provided funding for my studies at Oxford: it has also given me the opportunity to inspire other Nigerians looking to attend Oxford University. The MBA will equip me with the knowledge, skills and network required to be a leader that will make an impact in the world.'
Tofunmi Onaolapo
MBA 2020; MBA Student Council Co-President
Oxford-Pershing Square Scholarships
Founded in 2014, the Pershing Square Scholarships programme has now supported more than 25 students through the 1+1 MBA, in which Oxford’s one-year MBA degree is combined with a one-year Master degree from a range of other University departments. The six scholars starting in 2020 are combining their MBAs with MScs in subjects including Social Data Science, African Studies, Biodiversity, and Public Policy.
'Being at Oxford for two years will allow me to explore how inextricably tied environmental issues are to human rights and economic development, as well as think strategically, scientifically, and creatively about solutions that address issues of conservation and climate change.'
Marissa Ng
MSc in Biodiversity, Conservation and Management 2020
KNOWLEDGE
'Oxford Saïd’s research mission is to produce research of the highest quality that is rigorous, imaginative and meaningfully relevant to – and enhances – business practice.
Philanthropy plays an important role in our research strategy by funding new and existing academic posts that not only allow us to expand our areas of academic enquiry but also help make Oxford Saïd an ever more attractive place for scholars in every business school discipline.
Donors also contribute to funding for specific research projects, and in many cases make a vital contribution to the research through providing the perspective of practitioners. This is particularly the case in our collaborative initiatives such as the Future of Real Estate (FORE) and the Future of Marketing Initiative (FOMI), and I was delighted that we were able to welcome Google and WPP as new partners in the latter this year.'
Andrew Stephen Associate Dean of Research and L’Oréal Professor of Marketing, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford
Oxford Rethinking Performance Initiative
Neuberger Berman, Asahi Breweries Europe, and Novartis AG are supporting this new research programme examining how existing performance definitions and metrics need to be reshaped to reflect changing ideas about business purpose. A variety of important nonprofit organisations are also involved, along with initiatives such as the Value Balancing Alliance, the Harvard Impact-Weighted Accounts Initiative and the Banking for Impact Alliance.
Led by Professor Colin Mayer and born out of the Mutuality in Business project, the initiative hosted its inaugural workshop in January 2020, with around 30 representatives from business, financial services, academia and NGOs.
'By focusing on the study of long-term oriented and holistic performance, ORP aims to help businesses operationalise their purpose.'
Judith Stroehle
Senior Research Fellow, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford
Future of Marketing Initiative
The Oxford Future of Marketing Initiative (FOMI) hosted its third annual research symposium in December 2019, with a focus on data, advances in AI and machine learning, and the role that marketing should play in promoting sustainability within business and society. A key discussion looked at the problems of over-consumption and the challenges for marketing in a ‘post-trust’ era – topics that became even more important once the COVID pandemic struck. FOMI members made valuable contributions to the Leadership in Extraordinary Times broadcasts, which were delivered free by Oxford Saïd while restrictions were in place, and which were watched by thousands of people worldwide.
'At Teradata, we love the spirit and culture of the Oxford Future of Marketing Initiative. We thrive on new ideas. When we learn from each other, we multiply our value. We were excited about the FOMI vision when we joined. It only gets more extraordinary. FOMI keeps us grounded in relevant research today and with an eye on the future.'
Mary Gros
Director of Business Relations, Teradata Corporation
Jane Jie Sun Career Development Fellow
Dr Joana Probert joined Oxford Saïd in July 2020 as the first Jane Jie Sun Career Development Fellow.
The Fellowship, with its focus on female leadership, was created by Jane Sun, CEO of Trip.com Group, the only female CEO in China’s online travel industry and one of a very small number of female CEOs in the Chinese technology industry.
'The value that women bring to the workforce and the input they have on our society is immense. Female empowerment is needed and their leadership and presence must be sustained across all industries. I am delighted to participate in this exciting partnership and to witness leadership being transformed.'
Jane Jie Sun
CEO, Trip.com Group
'My research focuses on the positive aspects of women’s leadership and, in particular, their experiences as they transition into the very top roles. I am delighted to be part of such a vibrant research group with so many complementary interests in this important area.'
Joana Probert
Jane Jie Sun Career Development Fellow in Women’s Leadership, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
'Entrepreneurial mindsets and skillsets are vital for competitiveness and economic growth, and a key component of modern management education. The generous support of donors makes it possible for us to enrich our teaching of entrepreneurship across a wide range of initiatives. Across the Entrepreneurship Centre, the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship, the Creative Destruction Lab, and the Oxford Foundry, we believe that we have a uniquely attractive range of entrepreneurship programmes. This way we not only address a wide variety of student interests, but also benefit from numerous interactions with the local and global entrepreneurship ecosystem.'
Thomas Hellmann
DP World Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford
Creative Destruction Lab Oxford
Creative Destruction Lab (CDL) delivers an objectives-based programme for massively scalable, seed-stage, science- and technology-based companies. Its nine-month programme allows founders to be mentored by experienced entrepreneurs. The Oxford programme was launched in 2019 with an initial cohort of Artificial Intelligence (AI) companies. Over the summer of 2020, it launched a special programme for entrepreneurs providing solutions to the COVID-19 crisis. In the autumn of 2020, it added to the AI stream a new health stream, supporting start-ups that bring medical and biological inventions to market.
CDL-Oxford is supported by a group of Founding Partners, who were joined this year by John McCall MacBain and LocalGlobe.
Map the System
More than 3,500 teams from 54 educational institutions across the world registered to participate in Map the System 2020. This competition from the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship challenges students to explore issues through understanding the contexts in which they emerge and the networks and interrelationships that affect them.
The winners, announced after a Virtual Final in June 2020, were a team from the University of Oxford, who researched Women, Violence and Modern Slavery in Papua.
'The standard of the participants, the kind of problems that they want to try and solve, and more importantly the way they think about solving those problems is extremely impressive … they're certainly on a journey to make some significant change – not only change on a small level but change that I think is going to scale, and change that is hopefully going to result in some very, very improved lives.'
Mohamed Amersi
EMBA 2014; The Amersi Foundation
All Innovate at The Oxford Foundry
150 ideas were submitted from teams in 30 colleges to All-Innovate 2020, the University’s flagship ideas competition run by the Oxford Foundry and supported in 2020 by Oxford Sciences Innovation (OSI) with, in a new partnership, The Prince’s Trust Enterprise programme. 10 finalist teams took part in a virtual event pitching to guest judges Jim Wilkinson, Chief Financial Officer at OSI, Mohamed Amersi, Chairman of the Amersi Foundation and Advisor to the Oxford Foundry, Jenny Tooth OBE, Chief Executive of the UK Business Angels Association, and Oxford alumna Aneeqa Khan, Founder and CEO at eporta.
The winner of the best overall idea, awarded £10,000, was Neurolytic Healthcare from Brasenose College, founded by Inna Thalmann, DPhil Candidate in Health Economics, and Roman Rothaermel, DPhil Candidate in Neuroscience, who met at the Foundry.
Other awards went to the best undergraduate ideas, best postgraduate idea, and best idea from The Prince’s Trust.
'As the world’s largest university-partnered venture firm we are passionate about growing Oxford’s venture eco-system into one of the great venture hubs of Europe and creating businesses capable of tackling the planet’s toughest problems. Co-investing, supporting and nurturing multi-disciplinary student talent is essential for this.'
Jim Wilkinson
Interim CEO, OSI
'We are extremely grateful to the Oxford Foundry and the judges for supporting us in our mission to push the frontiers of precision medicine and help the millions of migraine sufferers worldwide. The award will help us complete our current validation study with the leading migraine clinics in the UK.'
Inna Thalmann, DPhil Population Health 2017
and Roman Rothaermel, DPhil Neuroscience 2017; Neurolytic Healthcare
Changemakers
We are enormously grateful to those who made a gift to Oxford Saïd between 1 August 2019 and 31 July 2020.
Individuals
Kadijah Amoah
Rawad Aoun
Ophelia Attobrah
César Aya
Nadeen Ayyashi
Wendy Becker and David Benello
Nilanjana Bhattacharyya
Alec and Sofia Brindle
John Butler and Susan Hayward-Butler
Jun Cao
Gus and Jenny Rose Carey
Ryan Chen-Wing
Michael Davis
William de Laszlo
Stephan Dimos
Adrian Dunn
Pete Flint
Simon Gage
Dame Moya Greene DBE O.C.
Gil and Brenda Hartman
Mariah Hartman
Daniel Hasler
Mark Hearson
Juergen Heeg
Brent Hoberman
George Hollendorfer
Richard Howard
Mihkel Jäätma
Tina Ju
Neha Khanna
Rachel Kirwan
J. R. Klein
Sam Laidlaw
Stephanie Y. Lung
Scott and Laura Malkin
Stephanie Mambo
Sir John Manzoni
Harmeet Marwaha
Dr John McCall MacBain O.C., Dr Marcy McCall MacBain and the McCall MacBain Foundation
Joseph Mik
Jacqueline Novogratz
Cristian Oancea
Cesar Ortega-Domene
Renee Ovrut
Despina Panayiotou Theodosiou
Pravin Pandey
Vijay Parsi
Dr Hasmukh Patel
Marian Pavlus
Patrick Pichette and Tamar Pichette
Tasso Politis
Paul and Kim Polman
Josep Prats
Amith Rao
Blake Samuels
Geoff Skingsley
Jane Jie Sun
Marc Szepan
Geetha Tharmaratnam
Eng Hui Ti
Peter and Mary Jeanne Tufano
David Turbay
Xingang Wang
Steven Lee Yamshon
Niklas Zennström
Organisations
The Adara Foundation
Arcadis UK
Barclays UK Ventures
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner
CBRE
Eni SpA
Ernst & Young LLP
Facebook
Ford Foundation
General Assembly
The Goldman Sachs Foundation
Google
Grace Lake Partners Cares Foundation
Grosvenor
HSBC Bank plc
Intesa Sanpaolo
The Jacobs Foundation
Kantar
Lloyd's of London Insurance
The Linbury Trust
LocalGlobe
L'Oréal
Meltwater
Mobile Marketing Association (MMA)
Nuveen Real Estate
Oxford Sciences Innovation plc
The Pershing Square Foundation
Redevco
Ripple
Saïd Business School Foundation
Santander Universities UK
The Skoll Foundation
TD Veen AS
Teradata
Twitter
UBS
WPP
Thank you
Every contribution, small or large, helps Saïd Business School further its purpose to develop the leaders, knowledge and new thinking that business needs to address world-scale challenges and create a better future for all.
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