Oxford Thinking Campaign Reaches £1.25 Billion Landmark

20th March 2012

The Oxford Thinking Campaign has now passed its initial target of £1.25 billion raised for the collegiate University.

The Vice-Chancellor Professor Andrew Hamilton, said, ‘We are enormously grateful to all those who have supported the Campaign and who are helping us to secure Oxford’s place as a world-class university for generations to come. When we first embarked upon the planning for the Campaign in May 2004 our aim of raising a minimum of £1.25 billion seemed ambitious, and perhaps rather daunting. The fact that we have been able to pass this target in only seven and a half years is testament to the strength of support for Oxford University around the world, as well as the hard work of our combined efforts as a collegiate University.’

The Oxford Invention Fund, run by Oxford University Innovation, has contributed to this total. The fund invests in proof of concept and prototyping work to get innovations from the University of Oxford into commercial production.

“The Fund has now reached its second close, raising £1 million. We are also very busy directing this money towards the best technology opportunities we have from Oxford,” said Andrea Alunni, seed fund manager at Oxford University Innovation.

Mark Houghton-Berry, Exeter alumnus and former CEO of Tudor Capital, who recently donated to the Oxford Invention Fund, said: “Early stage philanthropic capital is in fact a vital link in the chain between academic research and commercial innovation – the sums involved are relatively modest, but their impact compounds over time. I strongly encourage other alumni to consider donating.”

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