US tech billionaire unveils University of Oxford scholars scheme

One of the world’s richest men is to fund a major new scholarship scheme at the University of Oxford to help tackle “humanity’s most serious problems”.

Larry Ellison, the founder of software giant Oracle whose fortune is estimated at $135 billion (£110 billion), will fund about 20 candidates from across the world each year as part of a massive research investment at the leading UK university, it was announced on 12 October.

Scholarships will “fund all course fees” for the “year-round programme” at Oxford, and there will be a “generous stipend to cover things such as travel, programming, accommodation and living expenses”, in addition to “paid summer internships” from October 2025, according to the Ellison Institute of Technology (EIT), the charitable foundation that is setting up an Oxford campus in addition to its Los Angeles headquarters.

The Norman Foster-designed campus – which incorporates more than 30,000 square metres of research laboratory space, a cancer patient clinic and education spaces, and is to be located on the Oxford Science Park and parts of the estate belonging to the former Littlemore hospital – is set to be completed by 2026.

In addition to the scholarship programme, Mr Ellison, who was named the world’s fourth richest man by Bloomberg in June 2023, will also fund an EIT “Faculty of Fellows”, described as a “distinguished group of world leaders, scientists and entrepreneurs [who will] define and manage large, complex engineering projects in pursuit of solving humanity’s problems”, according to the foundation.

The faculty include Sir Tony Blair, the former UK prime minister; David Agus, EIT’s founding director; and Sir John Bell, Regius Professor of medicine at Oxford. They will work with Ellison-funded scholars on four key areas: food security and sustainable agriculture, medical science and healthcare, clean energy and climate change, and government policy and economics.

The link-up with Sir Tony is the latest collaboration with the US technology tycoon, who donated $33 million to the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change in 2021 and was expected to contribute another $50 billion to the non-profit organisation in the near future.

Sir Tony said the new Oxford facility would be an “enormous boost to the growth of the UK’s technology sector and will further the advancement and ambition of using science and technology to improve the lives of citizens globally”.

“The Ellison Institute for Technology, with innovation at its heart, will push the boundaries of invention and, together with the Ellison Scholars programme, will find and fund the best young minds from the UK and around the world,” he added, stating that he hoped to work with scholars on “how we use the potential of technology to reimagine the state and make government work more effectively”.

The overall size of Mr Ellison’s funding of the new facilities, faculty and scholars has not been disclosed.

Commenting on the new initiatives, Mr Ellison said his institute would “focus its work on finding technological solutions for some of humanity’s most challenging problems, and preparing the next generation of leaders and innovators to share and apply these advancements around the world”.

Irene Tracey, Oxford’s vice-chancellor, called the launch of the new institute “hugely exciting”.

“We look forward to working with the Scholars team to support and educate the next generation of thought leaders so they are ready to take on the world’s challenges,” said Professor Tracey.

jack.grove@timeshighereducation.com