PRESS RELEASE:
- Aurora Energy Research announces £500,000 donation to the University of Oxford's Smith School for scholarships on the new Master's degree in Sustainability, Enterprise and the Environment
- With unmitigated impacts of climate change estimated to cost trillions of dollars, investment now is crucial. Businesses have a key part to play in improving our global carbon footprint so we can achieve Net Zero emissions and deliver a cleaner, fairer and more prosperous world.
Energy market analytics provider Aurora announced the launch of The Aurora Energy Research Scholarship, helping to ensure merit-based access for the best students.
Aurora is donating £500,000 for the MSc in
Sustainability, Enterprise and the Environment which launches next year at the University of Oxford's Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment. The course explores the challenges of getting to Net Zero and achieving sustainable development through the lenses of enterprise, finance and economics.
Professor Cameron Hepburn, Director of the Smith School, was a co-founder of Aurora Energy along with other members of the University of Oxford, although he is no longer involved with the company. The scholarship programme further cements expertise and collaboration between Aurora Energy Research and the University, and represents an exceptional opportunity to welcome new brilliant minds into the field of sustainability.
The funding covers nine scholarships, to be awarded between 2021 and 2026, as well as a founding gift to the Smith School's Director's Fund.
The scholarships will be awarded on a merit basis, specifically aimed to encourage dedicated applicants who show a clear edge on dynamic flair, intuition for innovation and strong promise. The Smith School welcomes applications from groups under-represented in enterprise and the environment, and hopes to provide opportunity for real talent especially where finance may prove an opposition to academic pursuit.
John Feddersen, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Aurora, said: "Leadership and innovation must play vital roles in driving decarbonisation globally. Through the Aurora Energy Research Scholarships, we are delighted to enable some of the world's best minds irrespective of their financial circumstances to develop their ideas and leadership abilities, while studying at Oxford University.
It is core to Aurora's mission and values to serve a broader social purpose beyond commercial success. Aurora and Oxford have a long & collaborative history, and we're proud to be able to further deepen our relationship with the University through philanthropy."
Cameron Hepburn, Director of the Smith School of Enterprise and Environment, said: 'The MSc in Sustainability, Enterprise and the Environment will equip students to tackle some of the most critical challenges of our generation: how to build back better after Covid-19 and set the global economy on a pathway towards a stable climate for centuries to come.
Our ambition is to offer scholarship funding for as many places as possible on the master's programme. We are grateful for the generosity of Aurora Energy and thrilled they share our vision to ensure the best minds are able to benefit from an Oxford education.'
Applications for the scholarship (and the course) are open. To learn more, visit:
www.smithschool.ox.ac.uk/msc/
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