The magazine of The UEA Difference Campaign
ISSUE 1 ∙ 2019-20
A PERSONAL MESSAGE OF THANKS Stephen Buoro (LDC18) was awarded the UEA Booker Prize Foundation Scholarship in 2018 to study for an MA in Creative Writing (Prose Fiction).
Here, Stephen shares his thanks to everybody who has donated to The Difference Campaign, and explains what the support he received means to him… Thank you. You have transformed my life with this scholarship. Without it, I’d have been at home in Nigeria doing things that take me further away from writing. Norwich and the UEA are more beautiful than I saw on Google. I like the trees in the mornings, and I really like how they seem spent and cheerful and a little weird in the light of sunset. So far, it has been the little things that have been very surprising to me about life in the UK: the ‘smell-less’ smell of the air and the carefree rustle of
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leaves in the breeze; the markings on roads, the colour of streetlights and their reflections on the road when I cycle at night; nightfall at 4pm in the winter. Every morning, I wake up feeling a new, knotty freedom. I hope to use this freedom to complete my first novel, a very daunting project. My colleagues and tutor are very intimate readers and editors. They have helped me to get a deeper understanding of my novel, as well as my strengths and weaknesses as a writer. I hope to work harder than ever, to climb every rung, to soar in the end as a better person and a better writer. Thank you very much for this opportunity and your support of UEA.
THA NK YO U V ERY MUC H FO R THI S O PP O RTUNIT Y A ND YO UR S UPP O RT O F UEA.
TO PIONEER This is a brand-new magazine to show you what your gifts to The Difference Campaign make possible. It’s a space for stories. A space for news.
ISSUE 1 Cover Images
(clockwise from top left) External view, The Quadram Institute. Sussie Anie (LDC18), recipient of the Kowitz Scholarship. External view, The Bob Champion Research and Education Building. Professor Colin Cooper, Chair of Cancer Genetics at UEA.
Contents 04
Enterprise Fund
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Scholarships
08 New Science Building 10
Tiger Test
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Law Clinic
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Giving in wills
18 International Chair of Creative Writing 21
Telephone giving
22 The Quadram Institute 23 Closing thoughts
A space to be informed and uplifted. Engaged, passionate and active. A space for a community of people who act as others turn away. One to start conversations (and please do tell us what you think). Somewhere to shout about progress and innovation. About ideas that will change the world. A space that allows you the opportunity to feel pride in what you’re making possible. A space for hope. And, most importantly of all, a space for us to say thank you. I hope you enjoy it. With my deepest thanks, David Ellis Director of Development, UEA
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NEW LEADERS IN BUSINESS Two tech businesses awarded £50,000 Enterprise Fund investment.
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echnology is playing a key role in two exciting young companies that have recently earned a £50,000 investment into their business from the UEA Enterprise Fund.
Safepoint and e-Surgery will each benefit from the highest possible level of financial support after pitching to the Enterprise Fund’s panel of entrepreneurs, business leaders and UEA alumni. Both will also receive ongoing advice as well as access to industry mentoring and an entrepreneurial support network. SAFET Y FOR LONE WORKERS Safepoint, formed in 2017, aims to protect lone workers who work without direct supervision, including field engineers, security guards and community carers. A new system notifies a dedicated guardian if problems occur – so workers are never truly alone. Their Enterprise Fund investment will allow Safepoint’s founders to continue to expand their business and explore other ways of keeping lone workers safe. “Donors are helping us make sure that every lone worker makes it home safely at the end of their work day,” said CEO and co-founder Callum Coombes (CMP13). “We are now doing things that, without the funding, we wouldn’t have been able to do for another six months to a year. Thank you.” IMPROVING ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE Also awarded £50,000 was e-Surgery, a new online pharmacy business run by doctor Thuria Abduljhbar (MED12) and pharmacist Oskar Wendowski (PHA08). They developed a web app to provide access to medications and a valuable means of healthcare advice. “The Enterprise Team are absolutely fantastic,” said Oskar. In addition to the funding, “they have connected us with mentors in fields we had little previous experience in, for example an experienced journalist and the founder of a shipping fulfilment company.” BACKED BY SUPPORTERS Many Difference Campaign donors who choose to support
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£3m Enterprise Fund fundraising target
the Enterprise Fund are experts in business themselves. Others wish to make a positive impact on the economy or support innovative young companies. “UEA was the beginning of my personal journey into the business world,” said donor Mike Hammond (SOC77). “Giving back has always been important to me and, when I heard about the Enterprise Fund, I wanted to help. My donation helps students and recent graduates to live out their ambition of starting a business and putting their ideas into practice. This was an opportunity that just didn’t exist when I was studying. “It has been good to meet and mentor students who are receiving Enterprise Fund support. Their ideas and energy are a tribute to the environment that exists today at UEA.” BENEFITS BEYOND THE ECONOMIC Although Difference Campaign gifts are supporting entrepreneurs, there are also social benefits that donors make possible. While it’s not a stipulation, many Enterprise Fund applicants are passionate about making a positive difference in the world. It’s called a triple bottom line impact – on people, profit and planet. For e-Surgery, the award has been life-changing – both for the people they are helping with access to prescriptions, and for the team themselves. “We’ve had so many positive reactions from patients,” Thuria added. “Thank you – your continued support will help many more businesses like ours that are just starting out.”
Centre: Sophie Cox, Student Enterprise Officer in the Enterprise Centre. Right: Callum Coombes (CMP13) and Nichita Misin (CMP16), co-founders, Safepoint.
THE VISIONARY ENTERPRISE FUND The world of business is changing and, at UEA, we knew we must help our students stay ahead of the curve. But, while extraordinarily beneficial to students’ future prospects, launching a business alongside studies can be challenging. Data and technology offer exciting new opportunities, yet access to traditional investment and funding can be difficult. Our Enterprise Fund is almost unique within UK universities. Based in the award-winning UEA Enterprise Centre, we offer an armoury of tools and support to get businesses off the ground. Entrepreneurs can apply for financial grants and equity investments of up to £50,000, the returns of which will help the envisaged £3 million Fund become self-sustaining. Sophie Cox, Student Enterprise Officer in the Enterprise Centre, said: “One of the key things we tell donors is the leverage their money gets at this level. For not a great deal of money compared to bigger businesses, our entrepreneurs are making great videos, prototypes and apps. They are collaborating with inspiring people. We have such great resources for them.” The Enterprise Fund is open to all students during their course and up to three years after graduation. Founded in partnership with UEA alumni, we have awarded grants and investments of £238,900 to 16 businesses since the Fund’s launch, and continued the University’s long tradition of championing enterprise in everything we do. 05
THE BRIGHTEST AND BEST
Donors bring a further 67 scholarship students to UEA this year. e are extraordinarily grateful to all of our donors who are funding scholarships. Across the life of The Difference Campaign since 2009, their philanthropic gifts have been worth more than £3.6 million and given a total of 550 exceptional students the chance to attend UEA. SCHOL ARSHIPS AT UEA For many, attending university is one of life’s most formative experiences. Students face academic challenges, connect with likeminded peers and discover new ideas. Yet daunting costs and debt are turning some talented individuals away from their chosen courses. This is a challenge both for their life opportunities and our University, as we seek to attract the very brightest and best. Scholarships can be funded for any subject, with bespoke scholarships costing from £5,000 per year. Donors are also supporting the University’s Difference Scholarships with monthly donations and gifts of all sizes.
550 Scholarships funded
£3.6m donated since 2009
Above: Some of our 2017-18 Medical Aspirations Scholarship recipients. Left: A group of 2018-19 donor-funded postgraduate scholars. Below right: David Tibble, Difference Campaign donor.
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THE MEDICAL ASPIRATIONS SCHOL ARSHIPS
Inspired by the chance to improve inclusion, one Difference Campaign donor is making a remarkable impact. The Medical Aspirations programme, funded by UEA alumnus David Tibble (SOC70), starts with outreach sessions in schools in less privileged areas in East Anglia. Talented students who might never have considered a degree in medicine come to UEA for a weeklong residential course and have the opportunity to apply for a Medical Aspirations Scholarship. The scholarships, which reach their 10th anniversary in 2021, have enabled 24 academically gifted students to study Medicine at UEA.
“I was at university when I didn’t have to pay anything,” said David. “In fact, I got paid to go to UEA by the local authority under means testing. Previously, I doubted I’d ever even get to university – I’d already started a job in market research for Unilever. “I was very grateful for the opportunity I got. And, now that I am in a position to open up that opportunity to others, it was something I very much wanted to do. “By and large, 70% of the medical profession have parents or grandparents also in the profession. It’s not that others don’t have the qualifications, they just don’t know
how to get into it. But around half of those who attend our residential courses are inspired to study medicine either at UEA or elsewhere. “The key thing about giving money is finding something that piques your interest and meets your concerns. It might be creative writing for some and postgraduate scholarships for others. My motivation was inclusion and this, to me, was one of the best routes.” And the moment David feels most proud of what he has made possible? “Seeing the families of the scholars when they graduate is very rewarding. Some can’t believe there’s a doctor in their family!”
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A NEW VISION FOR SCIENCE Our recently appointed Pro-Vice Chancellor for Science, Professor Mark Searcey, shares his vision for UEA’s innovative new integrated teaching labs.
ince UEA’s earliest days, our science students have been taught in the Lasdun Teaching Wall. From the beginning, this was a space designed to encourage cross-disciplinary learning. Over the years, thousands of students on different courses have rubbed shoulders here. Today, that same inclusive spirit is driving our impressive New Science Building. Just like the Lasdun Teaching Wall, which is located next door, this is a space fundamentally designed with cross-disciplinary learning at its heart. Here, we will help to train a new generation of STEM graduates – and address the ongoing unmet demand for recruitment within the scientific industries. Professor Mark Searcey, Pro-Vice Chancellor for Science, gives readers a behind-the-scenes look at the new building, and explains his vision for science at UEA. Hello Mark. What is your vision for the New Science Building? Science is increasingly inter-disciplinary. Today’s breakthroughs are happening at the interfaces between different disciplines – be that maths and engineering, or chemistry and biology. The New Science Building is a cutting-edge facility that will give students an idea of what it is like to work in such a high-tech industry. They’ll be at the very frontiers of science! How will that integration be encouraged? Architecturally, the building has been specifically designed to facilitate social interactions and break down barriers between courses and subjects. When it comes to practical teaching, the labs are for everyone in the Science Faculty. Students on any course will learn in the lab most appropriate for what they’re studying – when our pharmacy students are learning about pharmacology and cell biology, they’ll be taught in specialised biology labs by pharmacologists. Everyone will have access to the wealth of people, equipment and expertise we will have here. How was the work made possible? The building is due to open to students later in 2019, thanks in no small part to the generosity of Difference Campaign
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donors. Their gifts will help UEA remain at the forefront of scientific education for years to come, and help us make sure that our 3,000 STEM students receive the best possible experience. How will it improve teaching? Being taught in the new building’s large, dynamic spaces will give students a real benefit. It will allow us to run both large and small classes with a firm emphasis on practical teaching. We’ll be promoting interactive learning and, as I said, multi-disciplinary collaboration. The facilities are fantastic and the building will contain the latest learning technology, such as microscopes that display on screens around the lab. Could you speak about how research fits in? The New Science Building is going to benefit hugely from its proximity to the research prowess we have at UEA – both on campus and with our colleagues at the Norwich Research Park. Students will learn in labs that more closely resemble those in the leading biomedical research institutions we have here. And our researchers will find that our students are even better prepared when they come to conduct their own projects or take up research positions. Will employers see a benefit too? Jobs in science, research, engineering and technology are expected to rise twice as fast as other occupations before 2023. That’s why our equipment and facilities are designed around those of the workplace – we want our students to be the most well-equipped for work of any university. Employability is something we take seriously at UEA, and the New Science Building is central to ensuring that UEA continues to produce leading UK scientists. Anything else to add? I’ll just say another thank you to everybody who is helping to give our science students a platform from which they can push at the limits of their abilities and achieve more than they thought possible. The New Science Building will continue to make a far-reaching impact across the scientific economy and address the STEM skills shortage. It’s a very exciting time for all of us in the Science Faculty.
Left: A design detail of the building’s architecture. Above: Professor Mark Searcey, Pro-Vice Chancellor for Science at UEA. Below: An artist’s impression of the completed exterior.
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Professor Colin Cooper, Chair of Cancer Genetics at UEA.
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SOLVING THE RIDDLE Thanks to UEA donors, our prostate cancer research is making great strides. At the next stage, a clinical trial will aim to prove the Tiger Test in a medical setting by 2022.
s I enter Professor Colin Cooper’s scientific research laboratories at The Bob Champion Research and Education Building for his Pioneer interview, I am met by a hive of activity. Research assistants and other scientists spin efficiently around me as if I am not there, so resolute is their focus on their work. Scanners and monitoring machines hum in a low harmony. Calculations are made. Notes are jotted. This, Professor Cooper says, is the focus that helped him and his team start making breakthroughs in prostate cancer that, they believe, will be revolutionary. “Thanks to the donations that we received, we’ve begun to solve the problem,” he smiles. “Now it’s about translating these early results into patient benefit.” THE UK’S MOST COMMON CANCER IN MEN In a long and varied career, Professor Cooper has made many breakthroughs. “I started my career looking at childhood sarcomas,” he begins. “Today, the solutions we came up with are used worldwide in diagnosis. Since then, we’ve worked with breast cancers, bladder cancer, kidney cancer and finally we ended up focusing on prostate cancer. “But, whereas I’d solved a lot of the problems for other cancers, we had great trouble with prostate cancer. There was a specific clinical problem here that needed my attention.”
Our understanding of prostate cancer is lagging well behind other forms of the disease. In the UK, it’s the most common cancer in men and now causes more deaths than breast cancer. Half a million men are diagnosed in North America and Europe every year. Cases in Asia are rising. CLEAR ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT Worse still, the current tests for prostate cancer are unreliable. Most prostate cancers are, in fact, near-harmless and could be safely managed with nothing more than regular check-ups with a doctor. Professor Cooper calls these ‘pussycat’ cancers. But current means of diagnosis don’t differentiate effectively between those and the aggressive 10% of prostate cancers that are life-threatening – or the ‘tiger’ cancers, as they have been nicknamed. u
THERE WA S A S PEC I FI C C LI NI C A L PRO B LEM HERE THAT NEED ED MY AT TENTI O N. www.uea.ac.uk/difference
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u Professor Cooper explains, “Clinical trials have shown that for every 21 men who undergo surgery for prostate cancer – a painful operation that can lead to impotence and incontinence – just one man had a dangerous tiger cancer. There was never any need for the other 20 to go through radical surgery and radiotherapy.”
It’s a terrible strain on the lives, health and wellbeing of men and their families. And it’s a shockingly inefficient use of hospital resources. ANALYSING DATA WITH AI The biggest issue in terms of the science, Professor Cooper explains, was that there was no way to interpret the data from a prostate cancer biopsy in the same way you can with, for example, a breast tissue sample. “From one patient, we get 70 DVDs’ worth of information and data,” he tells me. “And you’re only going to know what that data means when you’ve got the maths and computing to analyse it.” But, with prostate cancer, the established methods of genetic analysis were ineffective. It would take humans many lifetimes to pore through all that information. But advances in artificial intelligence allowed Professor Cooper and his team to spot patterns in global prostate cancer datasets, powered by up to 12% of UEA’s overall computing power for more than a year. FIRST STEPS TO SOLVING THE RIDDLE The team’s research has uncovered an aggressive form of prostate cancer, which Professor Cooper has termed DESNT, that carries the worst clinical
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£2.2m Tiger Test fundraising target
outcomes for patients. Early results show that the Tiger Test is able to spot it, and thus tell which men are at the highest risk of developing aggressive disease. Finally, the team has a method to tell the harmful prostate cancers from the harmless. If they complete the initial research phase, all that will be left to prove is that these astounding results can be reproduced in a medical setting safely and consistently. To get there, we will need to raise £2.2 million. A THANK YOU TO DONORS Sitting at the heart of the fourth most-cited UK city for research, our University was a perfect place for this project. But it also required substantial funding, which began with the Andy Ripley Memorial Fund that first established the research. Its continued progress is thanks to further generous donors. “The donations are what allowed us to do it,” Professor Cooper says, gratefully. “It is difficult to find traditional funding for the project because it’s not mainstream. But a lot of the things we’ve done that have seemed a bit ‘strange’ actually turned up with the solutions. We’re certainly living up to the UEA’s motto of ‘Do Different’! “I find the environment at UEA excellent. There is a lot of expertise here that you do not usually get in a cancer institute. And if it hadn’t been for the donations that we received, then the breakthroughs never would have happened.” TRANSITIONING INTO BUSINESS The project’s next stage will see the Tiger Test proved in clinical trials and then validated in commercial laboratories. For Professor Cooper, who is aiming to complete both the
Left: Big C Atrium in The Bob Champion Research and Education Building, where the team are based. Above: The team work in the building’s state-of-the-art labs.
research and clinical trial by 2022, the health of men remains his top priority. “In the past, I’ve given my research to a company to develop. It was so problematic that I’ve decided to do it myself, with a team of professionals.” This way, he says, “you’ve got the freedom to go at your own pace and do it properly; philanthropy is the key to making that possible. “In the long run, I think it will bring more patient benefits to keep control and possession of the project within UEA. We can reinvest any returns into future cancer research at UEA.”
In other words, a Tiger Test that doctors anywhere in the world will one day be able to use to save lives, prevent needless operations and understand prostate cancer better. To get there, we must set up a screening lab, begin the clinical trial and fund it to completion. This work starts with the order of a £145,000 scanner, made possible by donations. One thing seems certain. This inspirational scientist, a man who rises at 3am each day to begin work, won’t let anything get in the way of achieving that goal. www.uea.ac.uk/difference
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NEW HOME FOR L AW CLINIC Generous gifts are helping the UEA Law Clinic change lives.
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he history of Earlham Hall, the home of the UEA Law School, is long and littered with greatness. In 1786, this was the family home of the young Elizabeth Fry, who would go on to become one of Britain’s great social reformers and precede Winston Churchill as the face of the five pound note. Back then, Elizabeth would clothe local children and teach them to read and write. Today, Earlham Hall is just as valuable to vulnerable people in the local community. THE L AW CLINIC REOPENS As part of a multimillion-pound renovation project of Earlham Hall, the previously disused outbuildings have been beautifully transformed and extended to provide state-ofthe-art facilities for the award-winning Law Clinic. Here, UEA students are working with local charities to give legal help to those unable to afford it and fight for justice where it has been withheld. The Law Clinic’s new, purpose-built premises include a large, open-plan office where students meet and work, two private consultation rooms for meetings with clients, an airy reception space and 10 staff offices. Expert craftsmen transformed the space, funded by Difference Campaign donors – many of whom studied at the Law School and wanted to give something back following their fond memories of UEA. “It’s wonderful that our donors’ memories of their time at UEA and its impact on their lives has inspired them to give to the campaign,” says Professor Gareth Thomas, Director of the Law Clinic. “The best way I can show my thanks is to promise that we will use every inch of this new space, and all its potential, to provide unrivalled opportunities for our students, support the community in every way we can and continue to provide employers with talented graduates.”
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SERVICES FOR THE LOCAL COMMUNIT Y Polly Morgan (LAW00), Chief Operating Officer at the Law Clinic, explains the range of services now available to the local community: “Our biggest activity is with Norfolk Community Law Service. They are a free, independent legal advice clinic. Around 90 of our students per year volunteer in a range of the different services that they offer, some of which are now coming into this building. Those services include a welfare benefits team, where student advocates have helped reclaim more than £7 million for vulnerable people in the local area. Elsewhere, students fight wrongful convictions with the Justice Project, and the Street Law team aims to give schoolchildren the confidence to enter the legal profession.
O UR DO N O RS’ ME MO RIE S O F T HE IR T IME AT UE A HA S IN SPIRE D T HE M TO G IV E TO T HE CA MPA IG N.
The Law Clinic restoration (on the right) sensitively combines old and new architectural styles.
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VALUABLE EXPERIENCE FOR STUDENTS “The times have passed when you could just get a good degree and then get a job,” continues Polly, “because it’s very competitive out there. Working for the Law Clinic means our students can go to an employer and say, ‘I’ve managed a case file, I’ve handled court papers and represented someone at a tribunal.’ It’s a fantastic experience that gives them an edge.” Charlotte Marsh (LAW17) and Andronikos Stylianou (LAW16) are student volunteers in the Street Law team: “Neither of my parents went to university,” says Charlotte, “and a lot of the parents of the kids we speak to didn’t either. Some of them aren’t even considering university, or don’t know how to go about it. That’s why it’s important we go out to schools and show them it is attainable.” The Law Clinic is also improving employment prospects after graduation, as Andronikos explains: “I am honing my confidence and leadership skills while giving back to the community. The skills I’ve developed through leading different teams and delivering activities will certainly benefit me in my future work.” With further Law Clinic services soon to move to the new setting at Earlham Hall, the impact of The Difference Campaign and its donors on both law students and the local community will last for many years to come.
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Above: Polly Morgan, Charlotte Marsh and Professor Gareth Thomas in the Law Clinic space. Below: Andronikos Stylianou, student volunteer in the Law Clinic.
GIVE FOR THE GREATEST GOOD Dr Jill Pellew is the daughter of UEA’s founding Vice-Chancellor, the late Professor Frank Thistlethwaite, CBE. She explains why she has decided to give to the University in her will. My father was extremely proud of the University, from its founding until his death,” explains Jill. “He felt part of an important, exciting period in the history of British universities when the new campus institutions of the early 1960s were founded on new, sometimes radical, principles of learning. Many of them, and certainly UEA, have since become national leaders.” The Frank Thistlethwaite Music Award at UEA was the legacy of Frank and his wife, both of whom believed in the enriching effect of studying in an institution that provided cultural opportunities and experiences beyond a specific field of study. Jill – an academic historian and former senior university fundraiser – shares her thoughts on leaving a gift in her will. FOLLOW YOUR PASSION “I’d like to reinforce an institution that my father cared so much about and that I myself greatly admire. While not my own university, it has vicariously been part of my life for more than 50 years and I always enjoy visiting the campus.” MAKE A L ASTING CHANGE “I have huge confidence in the UEA Development Office, who have the experience, integrity and imagination to use a bequest well. I am not a wealthy person, but a gift of this kind is one of the biggest ways I can ‘make a difference’. Beyond family commitments, I will be giving to lasting institutions that have mattered to me.”
Above: Professor Frank Thistlethwaite, UEA’s founding ViceChancellor, welcomes HM The Queen to UEA in 1968. Below: The ‘topping out’ of the Library building, also in 1968.
EXPL AIN YOUR WISHES “It is always helpful to make your intentions known and discuss what might be of most benefit to the institution, while also respecting your own wishes.” A PERSONAL DECISION “Between the many institutions that have mattered to me in my life, I find it difficult to decide where to leave, and how to direct, a bequest. It often helps the organisation most to leave it up to the Development Office to direct a gift as they (and therefore the institution) think best at the time. “I may make mine a general gift or perhaps enhance the endowment of the Frank Thistlethwaite Music Award. The main thing is to keep in touch with what is happening at your institution.” 17
£2.25m ICCW fundraising target
Professor Henry Sutton, Director of Creative Writing at UEA.
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GLOBAL VOICES OF TOMORROW Professor Henry Sutton introduces UEA’s new International Chair of Creative Writing project.
ig, bold and fearless. When describing UEA’s radical new International Chair of Creative Writing, it’s difficult not to use powerful language. But the project is so distinctive, so grand in its ambition, that choosing a more moderate tone would be doing it a disservice. In an interview with Professor Henry Sutton, Director of Creative Writing at UEA, we learn just what the project involves and how Difference Campaign donors will help to shape the next 50 years of writing at the University. Could you introduce the project? In 2020-21, we mark the 50th anniversary of creative writing at UEA. The International Chair of Creative Writing, or ICCW, project is going to be the launch of our next 50 years. We want to look forward as we celebrate what has been achieved, and this £2.25 million project, which will rely on the support of donors, is at the forefront of that. How will it work? We are looking for high-profile international writers whose work inspires and connects across borders and boundaries. Over the course of five years, five writers from five regions – Africa, North America, Asia, the Middle East and Australia and New Zealand – will hold the post of Chair for a period of one year. Each will work closely with UEA to represent emerging voices, both in their region and globally.
The Chairs will lead workshops, lectures and other engagement activities in their own territory, supported by UEA staff, and share expertise at UEA through masterclasses, tutorials and public events. They will also make connections with key institutions, organisations and individuals. Alongside the International Chairs, we plan to create 50 International Scholarships for the Creative Writing programme. We will celebrate diversity and inclusivity, bringing more talented writers from around the world to UEA than ever before. Why is a global focus important? Creative writing at UEA is increasingly international. Today, a third of students on the Creative Writing MAs are international students, and that’s quite a recent development. As well as bringing students here to add their insight and experience, we want to champion voices in communities and areas that haven’t had the advantages that others have. u
WE A RE LO O KIN G F O R HIG H-PR O F ILE IN T E R N AT IO N A L WRIT E R S WHO SE WO R K IN S PIRE S A N D CO N N E CT S. www.uea.ac.uk/difference
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u Our goal is to become a global centre of excellence for
supporting talented emerging writers, as well as to be a world leader for the story and practice of creative writing. We want to continue what we’ve been doing here for 50 years, as a natural home and place of sanctuary for writers. Why is creative writing important? I think it’s so vital that people have the opportunity to be heard, express themselves and make others aware of their experiences. Literature and writing, whether a short story, a novel, a poem or script, can help bring us together, open eyes and make people think. There are two key parts. One is enabling voices, while the other concerns the people and communities around the world who are going to be reading this material and benefitting from that experience. Writing helps tell us what it means to be human. To me, that’s absolutely essential. Who will the project reach? The five Chairs will be enthusing individuals and organisations around storytelling. They will have an ambassadorial role in the international community and empower dialogue between literary voices. Through philanthropy, we want to reach parts of the world where writing is restricted, and help encourage the supportive infrastructure needed to change lives through writing. Will current students benefit? The Creative Writing programme has changed people’s lives significantly. Not just in a monetary sense – although many of our students have won book deals and prizes – but through a deep engagement with creative writing, and what that has meant to them as writers and readers, and also as part of a diverse community of deeply interested and invested individuals. What we do best of all is create an environment, which works in part because of heritage. People recognise that we’ve been attracting the best students for 50 years. Alongside our existing scholarships, the ICCW project will help us to continue to attract the best and most international cohort of students. Could you speak about the stories we might hear? Success for the project means getting voices heard that haven’t necessarily been heard before. It can certainly authenticate experience, while encouraging imagination, validity and skill. It’s about enabling as many perspectives as possible. A big part of creative writing is capturing humanity in all its guises and enhancing empathy. Any closing thoughts? I see the ICCW project as the beginning of a serious internationalisation of what we do. Who knows, thanks to philanthropic support, where the next 50 years will take us? Professor Henry Sutton is Director of Creative Writing at UEA and will lead the ICCW project.
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A selection of titles from UEA’s prestigious alumni.
50 YEARS OF CREATIVE WRITING Malcolm Bradbury and Angus Wilson established the Creative Writing MA at UEA in 1970. From their first student, Ian McEwan, to the present day, we have fostered creativity and produced more published and prize-winning authors than any other UK programme. Our list of alumni is illustrious, and includes Anne Enright, Tracy Chevalier, Naomi Alderman, Emma Healey, John Boyne, Louise Doughty, Tash Aw, Ayòbámi Adébáyò and the 2017 Nobel Prize Winner for Literature, Sir Kazuo Ishiguro OBE.
TELEPHONE GIVING HITS £200,000
s this edition of Pioneer goes to press, the latest telephone fundraising campaign of the 2018-19 academic year has been completed. Between the four-week campaign in November and another three weeks in March, our generous alumni have pledged an inspiring total of more than £200,000 to support the The Difference Campaign.
Above: Our 2018-19 student callers celebrate the campaign’s success. Below: Callers enjoyed sharing stories and happy memories with alumni.
Gifts from alumni are supporting everything from life-saving cancer research, to scholarships that give more of the brightest and best students the chance to come to UEA, to the businesses of new entrepreneurs through the Enterprise Fund. Rosie Tarleton, who runs the campaign in the Development Office, said, “Thank you to everyone who has donated to our telephone campaigns in 2018-19 and through the years – you’re doing something truly wonderful. I hope you enjoyed sharing memories with our student callers and finding out what’s changed at UEA since your time with us.” More than 2,000 UEA alumni took the time to speak to our 40 student callers. As well as offering financial support, many alumni also kindly pledged their time – through career advice and work experience opportunities. 21
A NEW ERA FOR FOOD RESEARCH The state-of-the-art £75 million Quadram Institute recently opened its doors. round the world, poor diets are provoking a health crisis. Now, a new era of food and health research begins at the Quadram Institute. Conceived as a hybrid institution where a busy NHS department works alongside visionary researchers, around 300 scientists and 100 clinicians have now moved in and begun work in this pioneering new facility, thanks to generous Difference Campaign philanthropists. ‘The Quadram’, as it is colloquially known, will be an entirely unique international hub for food and health research. Here, scientists will begin to solve the great mysteries of the gut and microbiome, population health and ageing, food innovation and microbes in the food chain. The building’s architecture is inspired. Wrapped in cladding that mimics the patterns of DNA sequencing, it is a natural progression of Norwich Research Park.
Inside, cross-disciplinary labs will encourage collaboration between scientists and clinicians. A regional endoscopy centre will treat patients at a rate of up to 40,000 procedures a year. And food trials will enable us to translate clinical research to patient benefit more quickly. The Quadram Institute was created by four founding partners – UEA, the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, Quadram Institute Bioscience (formerly the Institute of Food Research) and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council. Professor Dylan Edwards, Pro-Vice Chancellor at UEA, said, “This new facility was only made possible by generous gifts from a number of donors, including a leadership gift from the Garfield Weston Foundation. The level of partnership between institutions, and resulting blend of food, health and gut science expertise under one roof, simply doesn’t exist anywhere else in the world. Thank you.” The Quadram Institute will be the home of new breakthroughs in disease and gut health.
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£100m
by 2021 The Difference Campaign fundraising target
Dominic Christian (SOC79)
Professor David Richardson
Global Chairman of Aon Reinsurance Solutions Co-Chairman, The Difference Campaign Advisory Board and Chairman, Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts
I’ve been delighted to help UEA with The Difference Campaign. I couldn’t think of a better way to give back to my alma mater. University life for me was academically undistinguished, socially fantastic and wholly beguiling. Perhaps as important a three years as I have known. By the end of my life at UEA, I had learned, later than many I was close to, the value of focus, attention, commitment and enquiry. I owe a great deal to the University, not just in business but in matters of family and friendship – the things that matter the most. The Advisory Board was stunned to see the £50 million target achieved in 2016, which is why we decided to relaunch with a £100 million target. We were clearly unprepared for your passionate support for students, academic researchers, teaching and the critical global impact that UEA has after 55 years of doing different, excellent, pioneering work. Our supporters come from far and wide. As well as UEA alumni, we count on the generosity of trusts, foundations, charities and others. All of your support is instrumental in the successes mentioned in this magazine.
Vice-Chancellor of the University of East Anglia
So, there we have the first issue of Pioneer. I hope you enjoyed it. While two short words aren’t nearly enough to express my gratitude, I want to say thank you. Your generosity means the world – and I am delighted to say that, including you, The Difference Campaign has been supported by a phenomenal 6,750 individuals from 48 countries. It’s proof that UEA really is a global institution. At its core, philanthropy brings more money into the University to achieve great things that simply wouldn’t be possible without your support. As you’ve read, every penny gets spent where UEA can make the biggest impact on our world through our students, academics and facilities. Over the next 12 months, you will see us expand the work that The Difference Campaign funds in recognition of where the need is greatest, and where we are most able to act. There are a great many challenges to overcome in the year ahead. The higher education sector is under more financial pressure than at any other time. But you are helping us to plan for the future and continue our transformative work unhindered.
And, of course, to the future success of this brilliant institution and its gifted people.
I’ll leave you with those two words again. The ones that both say it all and not nearly enough.
Thank you so very much.
Thank you.
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MAKING A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE AT UEA The Difference Campaign enables UEA to create pioneering change in the world. We are using the power of philanthropy to fund and further the University’s groundbreaking work – adding global reach and significance. Together with our donors, we are tackling the world’s greatest challenges and transforming lives. The money you give is put to work in four distinct areas; Creativity, Environment, Health and Opportunity. Thank you for helping to make a difference.
HOW TO GIVE If you would like to support The Difference Campaign, please donate online at www.uea.ac.uk/difference Or, to discuss your gift, please get in touch with the Development Office. Telephone: +44 (0)1603 592 945 Email: giving@uea.ac.uk Development Office University of East Anglia Norwich Research Park Norwich NR4 7TJ
This publication is printed on FSC certified paper. The contents of this magazine are protected by copyright belonging to the University of East Anglia and may not be reproduced without permission. UEA is an exempt charity: HMRC reference number XN423
