Friday 15 December 2023

Two Doctoral Scholarships for Women in STEM Endowed

Gift from alumnus and friends to Emmy Network at Keble College supports endowment of two doctoral scholarships for women in STEM .

Two new doctoral scholarships for women studying physics, mathematics, statistics, or computer science at Oxford have been endowed in perpetuity, thanks to a generous donation to the Emmy Network Endowment at Keble College from an alumnus and friends from around the world, with match-funding from the University’s Graduate Endowment Matched Scholarships scheme. This is the first part of a transformational pledge to endow twelve graduate scholarships for DPhil students at Keble.

Launched today, the Oxford-Emmy Graduate Scholarships aim to help address the disproportionately low numbers of women who take up postgraduate study and go on to work in the fields of physics, mathematics, statistics, and computer science. The hope is that these scholars will go on to support interdisciplinary research in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines.

Women with offers to take up DPhil programmes in the Departments of Physics, Computer Science or Statistics, or at the Mathematical Institute, will be considered for the scholarships.

The first two scholars are expected to take up their studies in October 2024. They will be offered a place at Keble College, with full funding for their course fees and living expenses for up to four years at the standard rate set by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

Professor James H Naismith FRSC, Head of the Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division, said: ‘This wonderful gift will make a significant contribution in our efforts to establish a truly diverse research student body. Focused on fields where gender balances have historically been skewed towards men, they will enable us to attract women of the highest ambition and calibre to join our research community. We greatly look forward to welcoming our first Oxford-Emmy Graduate Scholars in the autumn.’

Oxford-Emmy Graduate Scholars will also join the Emmy Network’s international community of senior fellows, visiting fellows and graduate scholars, which offers opportunities for enhanced professional development and interdisciplinary networking across diverse disciplines, ranging from mathematics and physics to biology and economics.

The Emmy Network will also host an annual conference at Keble College, to bring leading figures from relevant fields to interact with scholars and their peers in Oxford.

Keble alumnus Dr Jussi Westergren, Founder and Scientific Director of the Emmy Network, said: ’We are thrilled to be able to launch the scholarship programme this term in partnership with the University Graduate Endowment Matched Scholarships scheme (GEMS).’

Dr Sir Michael Jacobs, Warden of Keble College, said: ‘Keble is a centre for research and innovation within the University. With a graduate community of over 400 full-time students from all over the world and our new graduate centre – The H B Allen Centre – it is the ideal location for the collaboration with the Emmy Network. The generous pledge to endow twelve graduate scholarships for DPhil students at Keble will have a transformational impact on the generations of scholarship holders and also on the College, the University and interdisciplinary science.’

The University is committed to expanding the portfolio of scholarships it offers to all students in order to attract the most talented applicants to Oxford, irrespective of background or ability to pay.

Further information about this scholarship opportunity is available here.