Global multi strategy investment manager Qube Research and Technologies (QRT) has pledged to support students from under-represented and disadvantaged backgrounds at the University of Oxford.
A gift from the firm will fund scholarships and research internships through two of Oxford’s flagship graduate access programmes: Academic Futures and UNIQ+. Both initiatives are designed to help talented students overcome social, cultural and economic barriers to graduate study.
UNIQ+ research internships
The funding from QRT will enable five students to undertake UNIQ+ research internships in science, technology, engineering and mathematics subjects in the 2025/26 academic year.
Held annually in July and August, the UNIQ+ programme – one of the first of its kind in the UK – gives approximately 130 current or recent undergraduate students the opportunity to experience postgraduate research first-hand. They spend seven weeks living in Oxford, carrying out a research project under academic supervision and attending training and events.
Analysis has shown that UNIQ+ participants who go on to apply to Oxford are almost 10% more likely to be offered a place when compared with all other applicants. In this short film, graduate student Asia Hoile explains how UNIQ+ boosted her confidence and helped her to see Oxford as a place where she could both belong and succeed.
Academic Futures scholarships
QRT has also committed funding to the University’s Academic Futures scholarship programme, which launched in 2020 to widen access to graduate study for talented people from disadvantaged or under-represented backgrounds. As well as providing full scholarships to targeted groups, Academic Futures offers a programme of tailored support to ensure that scholars can settle into their studies at Oxford.
The strategic gift from QRT will be combined with other funds to create several full Academic Futures scholarships in the 2025/26 academic year. This will be used to support eligible graduate students in either the Medical Sciences or Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Divisions, with preference for those studying in the Departments of Physics, Computer Science, Engineering Science or Statistics, or at the Mathematical Institute.
Helping students overcome key barriers
Professor David Gavaghan, Chair of the Oxford University Graduate Access Subcommittee, said: ‘This strategic gift from QRT will help us to overcome the two key barriers preventing students from under-represented groups studying at Oxford: enabling them, through the UNIQ+ programme, to see Oxford as being a place “for them”; and through Academic Futures, providing the financial support they need to take up their studies in Oxford and thrive here.’
Qube Research and Technologies is a global multi-strategy investment manager. QRT actively supports the advancement of science and mathematics education, with a particular focus on underserved and underrepresented communities. It also contributes to scientific research programmes and promotes coding initiatives.