The Oxford University Graduate Scholarships for Ukraine have been funded by a £602,550 funding commitment from XTX Markets’ Academic Sanctuaries Fund.
The scheme is an extension of the Graduate Scholarship Scheme for Ukraine Refugees 2022/23, which has funded 26 scholars to study at Oxford for a year.
The original scheme was launched in May and was funded by the university and colleges. The money supplied by XTX will allow the programme to continue for 23/24, with the possibility of it being continued further.
The scholarships will support 18 full-time master’s students with their full course fees and a £10,000 grant for living costs. Colleges will provide free meals and accommodation. Eligible candidates must be Ukraine nationals who have been displaced by the war in Ukraine.
XTX Markets is an algorithmic trading company that established its Academic Sanctuaries Fund in order to provide support to students and researchers affected by the war in Ukraine. Universities and charities are able to apply to the £15m fund.
A priority of the programme is to facilitate “building back better”. Scholarships will focus on taught masters in the divisions of Mathematical Physical and Life Sciences, the Medical Sciences, and Continuing Education and Social Sciences, with the aim that scholars will return and contribute to the reconstruction of Ukraine.
Professor Lionel Tarassenko, who devised the original scheme soon after war broke out, said that “the funding from XTX Markets is the first step towards making the scheme sustainable”.
In an interview with The Oxford Student today, General David Patraeus commented that the approach of Western countries to the invasion “has been to adhere to the adage, ‘Nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine’.” This approach is reflected in the aim of the Graduate Scholarships, which provide the opportunity for Ukrainians to gain the knowledge necessary to rebuild their country.
Image description: The ‘Bridge of Sighs’ at Hertford College
Image credit: Chen Chen for The Oxford Student
