The University of Oxford is set to partner with the Ellison Institute of Technology (EIT), who will invest at least £130m in the University.
The Ellison Institute is a research and development facility, dedicated to solving the world’s “most challenging problems.”
The University describes the partnership as a “transformative strategic alliance” to tackle humanity’s greatest challenges, and will bring together researchers and students at EIT. The partnership will allow University academics and researchers to work at EIT, and EIT scientists will take up academic appointments at the University.
The President of EIT Oxford, Professor Sir John Bell, had previously endorsed William Hague, who won the Chancellor election last week. Bell stepped down from his role as Regius Professor of Medicine on 31st March this year to become President of EIT Oxford and Co-CEO of EIT Global. He described the alliance between the University and EIT as coming at “an exciting time in the technological revolution.”
Larry Ellison, Chairman and Chief Technical Officer of Oracle and founder of EIT, described the Institute’s goal as “reimagining the way science and technology translate into end-to-end solutions for humanity’s most challenging problems.” Ellison ranked fifth on the Forbes 2024 Rich List, with a net worth of $141 billion.
Earlier this year, Ellison has made headlines for suggesting that Oracle would pioneer “AI mass surveillance” and for his close friendship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom he offered a job at Oracle.
Oracle settled a lawsuit in July by paying $115 million, after the company came under fire for collecting the private data of five billion people through Oracle Cloud Systems.
Professor Irene Tracey, Vice-Chancellor of the University, described EIT’s investment as “transformative in empowering future leaders and accelerating successful research through innovation into economic and societal impact.”
The main aim of the alliance is described as ensuring scientific discovery and pioneering research are “turned into products for the wider benefit of society”. The alliance will focus on accelerating innovation across EIT’s ‘Humane Endeavours’, which include: health and medical science; food security and sustainable agriculture; climate change and clean energy; and government innovation in the age of artificial intelligence.
EIT has run the Ellison Scholars programme since 2023, and the first cohort of recruits will arrive in 2025 on full scholarships to study at the University. The partnership between EIT and the University will create the University of Oxford-EIT Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in the Fundamentals of Artificial Intelligence, based in the University’s Mathematical, Physical & Life Sciences Division.
EIT will invest an additional £30m to fund at least 100 postgraduate students to join the CDT over the next five years.
The EIT is set for completion in 2027 at a total cost of over £1 billion, and is situated on the Oxford Science Park, which was founded by Magdalen College in 1991. It is affiliated with the Ellison Medical Institute in California, a partner of the University of Southern California since 2016.
Image Credit: John Cairns