Impact report 2017

DEAR SUPPORTERS In autumn 2016, we launched an ambitious new university strategy – Practical Wisdom. For us, creating knowledge is not enough. It is how this knowledge can be applied and put to work for mutual benefit – for our community, our city, our region and globally. We pride ourselves on creating knowledge that is relevant and truly of the moment.

It is vital that universities are immersed in the ‘here and now’ and focused on the issues that matter most to our society. And this is why we encourage practical philanthropy – charitable support that makes a genuine difference in the world today. This isn’t just about money: it is about impact, recognition, encouragement and fulfilling potential.

Whether you have supported Brighton for many years or have made your first gift in the last few months, donors like you have helped make some amazing things happen here. We have highlighted a few examples in the pages that follow and I want to thank you for your part in these.

I hope that our projects are enabling you to achieve your charitable aims and, as a donor myself, it is exciting to see first-hand, the real difference practical philanthropy is making at the University of Brighton.

With best wishes Professor Debra Humphris, Vice-Chancellor

PRACTICAL PHILANTHROPY

IN NUMBERS Just under

3,396 donations

donated during 2016–17

Over £340,000 awarded in 295 scholarships, prizes and grants for our students

544 donors

In total, 29 projects across the university have been supported Our students have raised nearly

£32,000 for a range of projects

In December 2016, we received our biggest single gift of £500,000 to our new Advanced Engineering Centre Practical Wisdom Practical Philanthropy

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INSPIRING PEOPLE Anastasiia’s home town in the Ukraine fell into poverty when its main employer, a factory, closed down. She watched as people she knew gave up, and friends from school turned to drugs to cope.

The Ukraine now has the second highest rate of new cases of HIV in Europe, with over 50% being linked to drug use, particularly among adolescents.

Anastasiia is now being supported by the Forward Bound Scholarship to study for a masters in International Health Promotion. Her aim is to return to Ukraine with the knowledge and skills to establish much-needed support services for children and young people and to empower them to make change.

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Your help and contributions give people like me the chance to go beyond their limits and to return to their countries empowered with the concepts, tools and confidence to make the world a better place.�

Anastasiia, Forward Bound Scholar 2016-17

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ADVANCING DISCOVERY AND INNOVATION UniRoomie, a platform helping students find roommates and offering direct communication to landlords and SKILLS ON TAP UK, an employability app designed to help students and graduates identify their strengths and discover meaningful work opportunities that match these strengths are just two of the ventures that have been awarded a growth grant this year.

LanciaConsult, an international IT advisory firm, has provided a fund to help grow technology and digital enterprises led by students and recent graduates.

The Group Managing Director, Jeff Cronkshaw, is a proud alumnus of the School of Computing, Engineering and Mathematics, and helped review this year’s entries. The fund is open to applicants from any discipline with at least six months of trading.

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Thank you for your generosity, we appreciate your support and the opportunity to learn from an international consultancy firm will be hugely beneficial as we grow as individuals and as a business. The funding will go a long way in helping us progress our ideas, with the hope of UniRoomie one day becoming a familiar name amongst students in the UK.�

Jaspreet, LanciaConsult Growth Grant recipient Practical Wisdom Practical Philanthropy

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TRANSFORMING PLACES Living in halls of residence is just one of the new experiences our students face when they come to university. For some students, the prospect of making friends and identifying social opportunities can be daunting.

The Residential Life project has been designed to bring a sense of community to halls of residence, through the creation of residential advisor roles, held by current students, who ensure their neighbours and hall mates have a real sense of belonging.

Philanthropic donations have funded the cost of additional training for the advisors enabling them to discuss issues relating to mental health in a group environment.

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To help students as residential advisors, we do not need a lot of money or resources. A simple conversation, a hello and a smile, just being there to listen makes a difference.

We can reassure students that there are people who care about them, who have gone through the same experiences as them and can give them advice.�

Residential Life project participant Practical Wisdom Practical Philanthropy

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INSPIRING PEOPLE Each year, our final-year fashion students take their collections to Graduate Fashion Week, the ultimate showcase for our talented designers.

Our show this year was described as producing ‘the highest creativity, quality and craftsmanship’.

In addition to prizes for individual collections and business plans, the judges also decide which institution has created the most impressive display stand for the week-long exhibition.

As a result of the generosity of Mariam Parineh and her husband Shamsuddin Abdul Kadir, who is one of our senior Malaysian alumni, not only were our student collections highly commended in 2017, but our display stand was judged to be in second place overall this year.

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Thank you for your generous donation which has not just helped us achieve a professional, individual stand and catwalk show but also removed the added stress of having to raise an incredible amount of money on top of finishing our degree.�

Graduate Fashion Week exhibitor

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ADVANCING DISCOVERY AND INNOVATION As a student at the then Brighton Technical College, Harvey Goldsmith’s entrepreneurial flair led him to book some of the most iconic bands of the time as the college entertainments officer.

Today, Harvey (pictured opposite) is supporting a new generation of entrepreneurs through two Breakthrough Awards. These awards recognise creative and enterprising spirits who have used their initiative to make something happen.

Harvey describes the awards as an innovative way to help students follow their dreams, whether linked to academic subjects or interests outside the lecture theatre.

High praise indeed from the man who helped Bob Geldof make Live Aid a reality!

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I hope to carry on my business venture as a career path after my placement year and degree ends. Your grant has helped me create the foundations to do this and most of all given me the confidence I needed to believe in myself�

Entrepreneurship Breakthrough Award winner

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TRANSFORMING PLACES Our Advanced Engineering Centre (AEC) has an international reputation for innovative future-facing research – like its work on internal combustion systems with greater fuel efficiency and developing further ways to reduce carbon dioxide and other harmful emissions.

Much has been carried out in partnership with industry allowing joint expertise to be fully exploited and speedy use of solutions for commercial problems.

A recent accolade has been the awarding of ÂŁ500,000 from the Wolfson Foundation, the first major grant for the university from a charitable trust. With urban pollution still one of the greatest challenges today, the ongoing success of the AEC will benefit us all.

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Awards from the Wolfson Foundation are made following a rigorous review process and are a mark of excellence.

This is certainly the case with the Advanced Engineering Centre which will support research of the highest quality.�

Paul Ramsbottom, Chief Executive Officer, The Wolfson Foundation

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INSPIRING PEOPLE Activecare Pharmacy provides opportunities for our students to regularly meet local people who take medication and talk about what it is like to have to live with that situation.

The programme was established a decade ago in response to the concern that some pharmacy students were less confident on graduation than other medical-based students.

Both the students and patients volunteer their time – the students get to practice their communication skills and deepen their understanding of the realities and challenges of medication regimes. The patients find out more about their illnesses, how and why to take their medications appropriately, learn about the role of a community pharmacist.

The scheme was significantly extended this year following a donation from one of our alumni who is a pharmacist based in Hong Kong.

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The patients don’t only point out problems in their treatments, but also share their experiences with their conditions, both in hospital and in the community, so we are able to help them and contribute to their care.�

Activecare Pharmacy student volunteer Practical Wisdom Practical Philanthropy

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ADVANCING DISCOVERY AND INNOVATION Resilience therapy is about helping people who are experiencing particularly rough times. Our researchers work with and alongside children, young people and families exposed to social disadvantage and inequalities.

Recently, work has focused on the development and production of a range of games and other resources to help children’s resilience – or how they bounce back. The resilience tower helps children to think and talk about what they need when things get tough.

Thanks to the support a private donor gave to the university after hearing about this project, the findings have been applied for real-life use far more quickly.

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Young people related very well to this game. It was able to promote positive conversations about their feelings towards certain situations.�

Resilience Therapy researcher Practical Wisdom Practical Philanthropy

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TRANSFORMING PLACES Proprietary trading is when a company or financial institution trades on its own account using their capital and balance sheet. There are no customers or investors and the organisation experiences the full profit or loss on positions.

Unsurprisingly, this type of trading is considered high-risk, but OSTC, a leading global trading company, has developed a unique risk-averse approach to ‘prop’ trading, setting new standards with consistent, sustainable results.

OSTC’s managing director is Sam Baker, a Brighton Business School graduate. The company is committed to bringing out the very best in traders and maximising every trading opportunity.

To support the next generation of financial futures traders’, OSTC has provided 20 copies of the latest direct market access trading software’ and created a new trading room for the university which offers students practical and hands-on live experiences.

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It is a genuine privilege for me to be able to give something back to the next generation of students here at the business school. This new room will give students both a taste of the industry and the tools they need to become the trading stars of the future.�

Sam Baker, Managing Director, OSTC Practical Wisdom Practical Philanthropy

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REMEMBER THE UNIVERSITY OF BRIGHTON IN YOUR WILL Making a will is one of the most important tasks any of us undertake in our lives. A will is vital to ensure our assets are distributed according to our wishes after our passing.

Once you have made provision for loved ones, leaving a charitable bequest in your will is an excellent way of supporting an organisation your feel strongly about. A growing number of individuals have recognised this and have pledged to support the University of Brighton with a legacy gift.

Legacies and donations at all levels are vital to the future success of our university and will help us build upon what makes the institution so special. Your support will make a lasting difference.

To find out more about leaving a legacy to the university or to discuss your legacy intentions with us, please contact giving@ brighton.ac.uk.

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YOUR TIME IS A GIFT – VOLUNTEER FOR US As an exempt charity, when alumni and friends volunteer for the University of Brighton we count these gifts alongside the financial donations we receive.

We realise time is precious which is why we value our volunteers so much. Even just one hour of your time could make a huge difference to the student experience here.

Volunteering with us can take many forms and we recognise that much of the expertise and input we receive across the university is priceless. You can learn more about volunteering for the University of Brighton by watching our #brightonhour video at tinyurl.com/uobhour.

If you would like to offer your services as a volunteer, please get in touch by emailing alumni@brighton.ac.uk.

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THANK YOU! giving@brighton.ac.uk +44 (0)1273 642600 www.brighton.ac.uk/giving

Without ongoing support from our alumni and friends, these important activities could not happen. If you are able, please give again this year and encourage others to do the same.