Thank you for believing in BristolBenefactors’ Report 2016/17

1 Thank you

2 Highlights of the year

6 Reimagining Bristol’s future

8 Championing the pursuit of knowledge

10 Enriching the student experience

12 Empowering the next generation

14 Reaching for new horizons

16 Looking forward

Contents2

6

14

Donor numbers

362Total number of Bristol Pioneers

42Countries where donors reside

125Number of charitable trusts, foundations and companies giving

5,458Total number of alumni donors

5,945Total number of donors

Your impact

1 Research

£4,212,346 2 Capital projects

£1,558,5443 Student support

£1,510,0424 Areas of greatest need

£797,067

Income

1

2

4

3

The year in numbers

289Donors giving for the first time

Total new pledges 2016/17

£17,256,002Total new pledges 2015/16

£5,290,209

49*sports clubs

and student societies received grants to bring their ideas to life

277*students

presented their research findings in 49 countries across the globe

2016

/17

2015

/16

2016

/17

2015

/16

Total cash received 2016/17

£8,077,999Total cash received 2015/16

£6,942,446

Front cover: Benefactor Jacob Lawless*With thanks to the Alumni Foundation for their ongoing support

Benefactors’ Report 2016/17 1

In the last year, we have seen the beginning of a new era for the University of Bristol as we launched a new Strategic Plan, which provides a roadmap for our University’s future development. The collective ambition and imagination that informed our planning has set alight the hearts and minds of Bristol alumni, supporters and friends around the world. From a renewed focus on educational innovation to pioneering world-changing research, you will see in this Benefactors’ Report how the continuing commitment of our benefactors, alumni and partners are helping to bring our bold vision to life.

Thank you for your tremendous support in its many forms.

It is because of alumni and friends like you, who believe in what we stand for, who champion our cause and introduce us into conversations, who proudly talk about our ambitions, who actively help us to realise them by giving time and money – who enable us to take our next steps with even greater confidence.

The landmark gift from alumnus Hugh Sloane (BSc 1977) and the Sloane Robinson Foundation in support of the new Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus has been inspirational and it will help to transform the heart of the city, its economy, and our presence on the world stage. It will help to bring the best minds from around the world to study here. It will keep Bristol at the top of its game. It will ensure that our students continue to receive a world-class, innovative and inclusive higher education experience that produces graduates who will thrive and lead in a rapidly changing world.

We believe our students and researchers are different. They dare to challenge and question the status quo. They dare to discover new possibilities. They dare to look beyond the boundaries of existing knowledge. In working across research disciplines in multidisciplinary teams and with colleagues across Europe and the world, they will continue to discover new solutions for some of society’s biggest challenges.

Bristol is one of the great civic universities. It draws together partners in industry, government, and business with visionary philanthropists, to innovate and grow through major UK wide projects and international initiatives. Their drive to work with people for a better future is at the core of what makes Bristol exceptional.

The world needs our universities more than ever. We in turn look to the support of alumni and friends like you, more than ever. It is your belief in Bristol, in the value of higher education and in making a difference that is helping to convert our shared vision into reality and transforming the lives of our students and our local communities across the world.

Thank you for believing in Bristol.

Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Hugh Brady

Thank youfor believing in Bristol

‘ It is because of alumni and friends like you, who believe in what we stand for, who champion our cause and introduce us into conversations, who proudly talk about our ambitions, who actively help us to realise them by giving time and money – who enable us to take our next steps with even greater confidence.’

Benefactors’ Report 2016/17 312 Benefactors’ Report 2016/17

Artist’s im

pression

1 Wolfson Foundation The Wolfson Foundation have donated £780,000 to help transform the Fry Building into a state-of-the-art facility capable of fulfilling our ambitions to grow student numbers and faculty size within the School of Mathematics. Already among the elite group of mathematics departments in the UK, this expansion will increase the School’s influence so that it may become one of the top 15 departments internationally. This donation will allow the School to expand in emerging areas of mathematics, building on our strengths in cybersecurity, data science, and scientific computation.

Artist impression of the proposed new atrium The atrium itself will integrate public art in the form of a brise soleil screen formed in a mathematical Voronoi diagram.

2 Scholarship helps Ethiopian student study volcanology at Bristol University friends of Bristol graduate Michael Dreyfus have set up a scholarship in his name, designed to help Ethiopian people better understand the threat volcanoes pose to life, livelihood and the landscape.

‘What was attractive to us as donors was the idea of giving an Ethiopian PhD student the opportunity to learn from Bristol’s first rate volcano specialists,’ says George Elliston, whose friend Michael died, aged 28, in the Rift Valley in Kenya. ‘By training these students, Bristol can extend its world reputation. It’s a nice way of keeping Michael’s memory alive in our hearts, and establishing continuity between successive Bristol generations.’

Scholarship recipient Tesfaye Temtime pictured here with George EllistonTesfaye will undertake a PhD at Bristol where he will focus his research on applying geophysical methods to the tectonics and geothermal processes of volcanoes in the Ethiopian Rift.

Highlightsof the year

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Benefactors’ Report 2016/17 5

3 Remembering Bristol Sheila Anderson (LLB 1956) graduated from Bristol and went on to pursue a successful career in law working both as a barrister and in-house lawyer. Having been awarded a State Scholarship when she came to Bristol, Sheila understood the life-changing impact of a Bristol education. Keen to give back to today’s students, Sheila left a legacy in her Will to create a permanent scholarship to support Law students in need of financial aid.

‘As a student who has come from a background of financial challenges, I am tremendously grateful to have received the scholarship. Not only has it taken a huge burden of debt off my shoulders, but it has also instilled a confidence in me to do well on behalf of the University and Sheila Anderson,’ says Akosua-Rose Oppon, a recipient of the grant. ‘I hope I do her justice to her grant by excelling in my prospective field as a Law student.’

Akosua-Rose Oppon, Law student and scholarship recipient, looks through the personal memorabilia documenting Sheila’s time at Bristol, now held by the University of Bristol Special Collections.

34 Benefactors’ Report 2016/17

4 Engineering alumnus lays foundation for Bristol’s future success The foundations of John Partridge’s (BEng 1962, Hon DEng 2016) life and career were laid here at Bristol, and now he is laying down the foundations for future generations of engineers with a half-a-million-pound donation towards the new £13 million facility at the University of Bristol. ‘Engineering education is an important part of the UK’s future,’ says John. ‘I’ve benefited from the education I received at Bristol and feel passionate about ensuring students in the future have access to the best courses, facilities and teaching.’ This generous gift will ensure that Bristol is able to provide its’ Engineering students with high quality facilities to include cutting-edge equipment for the new Electrical Engineering Teaching Laboratory as well as advancing innovative and practical teaching methods, which will allow our world-leading academics to inspire the next generation of Engineering students.

John Partridge is pictured with Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Hugh Brady to mark a seminal moment at the ‘topping out’ ceremony for the new wing of the Queens Building.

4

6 Benefactors’ Report 2016/17 Benefactors’ Report 2016/17 7

A landmark £10 million gift from alumnus Hugh Sloane (BSc 1977) and the Sloane Robinson Foundation will support the creation of the University’s new Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus (TQEC). This visionary support – the University’s largest ever single gift – will be central to reimagining Bristol as one of the world’s great civic universities and the regeneration of our city.

The TQEC, on a site adjoining Brunel’s iconic Temple Meads train station, will be the first such development in a generation. It will revolutionise teaching and learning and build on Bristol’s reputation as one of the world’s leading digital cities. Business education will be co-located with world-class science and engineering research and development. There will also be a focus on digital innovation at scale and the skills pipeline to support the digital economy.

Education will be challenge-based and new degree programmes will be designed in collaboration with global and local businesses and partner organisations, to ensure students are equipped with the knowledge, skills, and resilience to thrive and lead in our rapidly evolving world.

Hugh Sloane, who graduated in 1977 with a degree in Economics and Politics, said, ‘This is one of the few times in the last 50 years where an opportunity has arisen to build a new campus right in the heart of a UK city. My support for the project stems from its focus on postgraduate and multidisciplinary education with an international outlook. Without world-class education and research, we will not be

able to address some of society’s biggest challenges, from economic inequality to future health care needs. The new campus and academically challenging degree programmes will attract the best and brightest from around the world.’

Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Hugh Brady said: ‘I would like to thank Hugh Sloane and the Sloane Robinson Foundation for their tremendous generosity and their confidence in our bold ambitions. Hugh is a very proud Bristol alumnus and a hugely successful businessman and the project will be so much better for his input. Our campus will be a beacon for collaboration, inclusion, evolution and opportunity. It will not only help secure the future growth and success of the University and the city, but will add in a major way to the future success of the UK.’

Right: Artist’s impression of the Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus.

ReimaginingBristol’s future

Benefactors’ Report 2016/17 98 Benefactors’ Report 2016/17

Your gifts have supported 45 PhD students just like Jose Gerardo-Aviles to pursue pioneering and potentially world-changing research that could change our lives forever. Here Jose talks about the impact of your support and the ground-breaking research that he is working on.

‘It’s predicted that Alzheimer’s disease will affect over 35 million people by 2050. The impact will be devastating for sufferers, their families, and society. My hope is that, by investing now to understand this complex brain disease, we’ll be able to slow the progress of Alzheimer’s and even offer a cure.

My PhD research, made possible by gifts like yours, aims to help us understand the neurological processes which contribute to the traumatic symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. Without first understanding the disease and its related conditions, we won’t be able to offer the hope of treatment to the 520,000 people currently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in the UK – and their families.

In my research, I am hoping to gain an understanding of how the processes of degeneration may occur. My PhD focuses on the recently discovered area of microRNAs. MicroRNAs control which genes are expressed and are important for all biological processes.

MicroRNAs may offer a non-invasive method for early diagnosis and prognosis of Alzheimer’s disease. If we can find a way to use them as easily accessible bio-markers, microRNAs might allow more accurate tracking of the progress and treatment of the disease. I am exploring whether the changes in microRNAs that I have observed in Alzheimer’s brains may be used as a diagnostic tool.

As an overseas student, I would not have been able to continue my doctoral studies without the support of Bristol alumni and friends. My research is novel and therefore expensive. Donation in support of postgraduate research is hugely encouraging and has enabled the exciting results I’ve obtained so far. I am optimistic that support for my research will provide important steps forward in the understanding and perhaps even the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.’

Left: PhD student Jose Gerardo-Aviles at The South West Dementia Brain Bank (SWDBB) laboratory housed in the Learning & Research Building at Southmead Hospital.

Your belief in supporting learning and discovery at Bristol is evident. This year you have enabled Bristol to push innovative research and provide high quality facilities for our PhD students to pursue their studies and further the knowledge and achievements of our University community.

Championingthe pursuit of knowledge

Benefactors’ Report 2016/17 1110 Benefactors’ Report 2016/17

We all have memories from our student years which have stayed with us, shaped us, even dramatically changed the course of our lives. Thanks to a grant from the Knowlson Travel Award, medical student Catherine Ollerhead had the chance to spend a life-changing month in Kolkata, India last summer with Tearfund.

Catherine tutored girls from a children’s home in science for their upcoming exams, handcrafted paper bags with women from a slum, and survived nerve-testing rickshaw rides. She says, ‘I was always struck by the girls’ positivity, motivation and hopes for the future, in the face of significant adversity. I hope to remember that next time I catch myself taking my education and opportunities for granted.’

John Knowlson gave £20,000 in 1963, valued at over £197,740.51 today, to endow a travel fund so that ‘students or junior members of staff can benefit their education and experience by travelling overseas.’ Sending students abroad during their time at Bristol has immeasurable value – they go on to earn better, get better

jobs and become employed after graduation faster. Thanks to the long-lasting legacy of the Knowlson Fund, more students at the University of Bristol are able to have life-enhancing experiences overseas that will improve their prospects for the future.

‘I will carry it with me and continue to learn from it for many years,’ says Catherine. ‘It was one of the best experiences of my life.’

Right: Catherine Ollerhead, (middle), and the Tear Fund Team in Kolkata, India.

‘ My trip to Kolkata challenged me to make changes to my attitude in life. It doesn’t really matter where we come from and what we look like. Instead, it is our human qualities, positivity, hopefulness and love that count and have the most meaning. In this sense, I feel like the people I met have impacted on me much more than I did on them.’ Catherine Ollerhead medical student, University of Bristol

Enrichingthe student experience

Benefactors’ Report 2016/17 13

Thanks to you, 41 talented students who would not have otherwise had access to a university education have been able to realise their aspirations with a life-changing Bristol degree. With our Bristol Scholars programme, you have provided them with a chance to succeed regardless of their individual circumstances.

Those awarded places at the University of Bristol are among the best and brightest in the world. But there are also those with the talent and desire to succeed who miss out on a place because their exam performance does not reflect their potential. This can be due to a range of educational, economic or caring challenges they might have encountered. With your support, we have been able to address some of these challenges. Bristol is the first higher education institution to take radical steps towards creating a more robust recruitment method – giving the brightest disadvantaged local young people the opportunity to realise their full potential.

The University has made offers to students from every school and college in the Bristol area whose headteachers have identified their ability and potential to succeed at university far outstrips their predicted exam grades. Those students whose household income is below

£25,000 will receive a first-year tuition fee waiver and an annual bursary of £3,750. To ensure they thrive, all Bristol Scholars receive a unique, tailored package which includes academic and pastoral support, peer mentors and financial aid.

Gifts like yours have enabled us to kick-start this initiative. From 2017-18 the Bristol Scholars Programme will be an integral part of the University’s core offering. Thanks to you, Bristol is leading the way. We are affirming Bristol’s role as a civic university and offering opportunities for the whole community. We are changing lives for the better.

Right: Thanks to the Bristol Scholars scheme, Beranger Igiraneza, who came from East Africa in 2002 as a refugee, will study Medicine at Bristol and fulfil his dream of following in the footsteps of the doctors who helped him as a child.

Photo by David Betts

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‘ I believe that education brings power and freedom. It’s a private and public good, and a fundamental human right. By levelling the playing field, everyone benefits, not just locally, but throughout the entire education sector. It’s what makes alumni support for our pioneering Bristol Scholars scheme so revolutionary.’ Michael Jaffrin Headteacher at St Brendan’s School, Bristol

Empoweringthe next generation

Benefactors’ Report 2016/17 1514 Benefactors’ Report 2016/17

What motivated you to support medical research at Bristol?Jonathan: I’ve spent most of my business career involved in some aspect of the life science industry and my study of Medicine at Bristol has been a huge part of this journey. Bristol has enormous strengths in many areas of biomedical sciences and Georgina and I were inspired by the innovative education programmes and cutting-edge research which is being carried out in areas such as population health science, cardiovascular science, and neuroscience.

On a recent visit to Bristol I was particularly inspired by the ground-breaking research being carried out as part of the Population Health Specialist Research Institute by Professor George Davey-Smith. Parkinson’s disease is also one of the many areas that we are looking to support. My father was a sufferer for many years and died of the disease, so we know the tragic consequences and disability that this disease can bring.

What do you hope the impact of your donation will be? Jonathan: It would be fantastic to find the answers to the big questions that Bristol’s researchers are asking. I hope the impact of our donation will be to bring new talent to Bristol and develop Bristol’s research engine by building on existing and new areas of research.

Why do you think it’s important to support universities today? Jonathan: I’ve long believed that solutions to many of the world’s problems are rooted in high-quality academic research. Ultimately it is this type of research which will allow us to improve the health of individuals and we need to train up the next generation of researchers to keep these improvements coming. It is also about giving back and acknowledging the lifelong advantages that a university education can give you. Giving something back if you can afford to is rewarding because in a small way you can stay involved in the development of your university.

Left: Dr Jonathan de Pass at a recent visit to the University of Bristol.

Inspired by research at the University of Bristol, alumnus Dr Jonathan de Pass (MB ChB 1979) and his wife Georgina recently donated £1 million to boost Bristol’s research capability. Their donation will be transformative and will support many priority research areas such as population health and cardiovascular sciences, and will also look at supporting research in Parkinson’s disease and Bristol’s Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

Reachingfor new horizons

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This is just the beginning…

The inspirational philanthropy that helped to found this great civic University continues to support Bristol’s ambitions for the future. Like-minded people, companies and organisations giving their time, talents and generous gifts are helping to turn our vision and ambitions into reality.

You believe in Bristol, and rightly so. Bristol is one of the world’s leading research-intensive universities. Our donors continue to recognise the importance of academic, clinical and translational research through their giving, from heart disease to the environment. The newly established Specialist Research Institutes will focus on areas of greatest potential for large scale, world-changing impact, in fields such as Population Health, Migration and BioDesign. Our benefactors also continue to support ground-breaking widening participation programmes such as Bristol Scholars, Postgraduate Scholarships and our high calibre PhD students who will benefit from the further development of the Bristol Doctoral College.

Like you, we are committed to the pursuit of new knowledge. To nurture the insatiable curiosity and foster the intellectual rigour that defines our scholars. One of the cornerstones of the University’s bold Strategic Plan is to boost research and leadership capacity through the

creation of 100 Vice-Chancellor’s Fellowships, the first programme of its kind at Bristol. Our supporters are already helping to recruit and develop this next generation of academic leaders, build internationally competitive scale and to find answers to some of the world’s most pressing questions.

This Benefactors’ Report reflects the transformational impact made possible by your gifts in the last year. We want to do more and with your continuing support, advice and partnership, Bristol can.

It is only with your backing that we can continue to grow and flourish, do new things, do things better, faster and to the highest quality. Your support also helps to ensure that we have a clear rationale for what we want to do, are open to new ideas and stay true to our vision and fundamental values.

Thank you for believing in us and for your generosity and support. The University was built on the foresight of our founding benefactors. Now it is time for the next chapter. I hope that you will stay with us for the journey ahead.

Stephen O’ConnorDirector of Development and Alumni Relations

Looking forward

‘ This Benefactors’ Report reflects the transformational impact made possible by your gifts in the last year. We want to do more and with your continuing support, advice and partnership, Bristol can.’

Right: Bristol alumni and friends receptions held in Beijing, New York and San Francisco in 2016/17. Stephen O’Connor, Director of Development and Alumni Relations (pictured top right) attends the New York alumni reception at the Guggenheim Museum.

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© University of Bristol 2017. Extracts may only be produced with permission of the Development and Alumni Relations Office.

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‘ This scholarship has been so helpful in enabling me pursue further study. The continued support that I have received from alumni and friends has made my research possible and is very encouraging and motivating.’ Laura Aish PhD student in the Faculty of Arts

‘ I am very grateful to the donors who made my PhD possible. The support has enabled me to travel and share my research with other academics. I hope my research could potentially provide, a long-term solution to some of the challenges around scarcity of natural resources.’ Fanny Sarrazin PhD student in the Faculty of Engineering