University of Oxford receives £300 million fund for Science ventures
Typically, the University of Oxford inspires images of grand old halls and age-old traditions of education, but the world’s oldest university is set to receive a £300million windfall to revitalise its science and technology offerings. Intended to increase the number of high-tech start-ups initiated at the university, the money will be put towards improved technologies and facilities, investment capital and dedicated mentors.
The fund is currently being raised by the newly-formed Oxford Sciences Innovation (OSI), an organisation working in tandem with the university and Isis Innovation. It is hoped that the extra funding will help turn the University’s £400million research budget into even more successful companies and influential patents.
Improving the facilities of the science and technology development departments could help students and faculty members build upon inventions and innovations.
Demonstrating the importance of offering comprehensive support and cutting-edge facilities, to even the brightest minds in the country, the venture could help progress a wide range of industries and encourage more students to continue STEM subjects to higher education.
A record number of students are studying STEM subjects, and improved facilities at the world’s top institutions could increase this figure even further. The number of students pursuing STEM subjects to higher education rose by 18% between the years 2002 and 2018. Most notably, the number of students applying to computer science courses is growing at a rate of more than 10% every year – demonstrating the growing popularity of related vocations.
This growth also demonstrates the improved science and technology facilities at secondary school and college level – inspiring a greater percentage of students to develop an active interest in STEM subjects.
Allowing students to innovate in science and technology classrooms can help them develop greater understand of the potential of the subjects and enable them to tap into a skillset and potential they did not know they had.
Improved science and technology facilities throughout school, college and university could enable students to find the vocation they are best suited to – allowing them to innovate and create successful start-up businesses. Isis Innovation has already helped more than 100 companies form from students, faculty and alumni of the University of Oxford since forming in 2000. The hugely successful and influential Oxford Nanopore Technologies, Natural Motion and Velocys start-ups are just some of the companies helped by Isis.
The move from the Oxford University is similar to ventures from the University of Cambridge and London’s Imperial College – which have both invested significant funds into improving their science and technology departments.