Donor Thank You 2020

THANK YOU

NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY
Thank you for your support during the past year
As has been said many times in recent months, 2020
has been a year like no other. At the onset of the
Coronavirus pandemic, I am sure none of us could
have imagined just how many challenges we would
face, both individually and collectively.
As Vice-Chancellor and President, I have been
incredibly proud of the way our University community
has responded to the crisis, and of the resilience of
our students and colleagues that enabled them to
adapt almost overnight to the difficult and rapidlychanging
circumstances in which we found ourselves.
By donating generously to the two emergency funds set up to provide
help for students facing financial hardship, as a direct result of COVID-19
and to support new COVID-specific research projects, you too have played
a vital part in that response.
Your generosity has enabled us to offer increased scholarship
opportunities for students from under-represented groups and lowincome
backgrounds. It has also helped us to further our research into
finding solutions for some of the greatest challenges facing global society,
both now and in the future.
On behalf of all my Newcastle University colleagues, our students and
alumni, I offer my heartfelt thanks for your generosity. I can assure you that
it really does make a difference to all those who benefit in different ways
from your support.
Thank you once again for supporting Newcastle University. We are proud
and grateful that you have chosen to do so, I hope you enjoy reading about
the impact your donations have made in the pages that follow.
01
Professor Chris Day
Vice-Chancellor and President

THANK YOU
COVID-19 Student Emergency Fund
Thanks to donations from hundreds of Newcastle University alumni,
staff and friends, the COVID-19 Student Emergency Fund has been
able to support so many of our students directly impacted by the
pandemic.
One such student who received a bursary
was Eleojo (pictured right), a PhD scholar
whose thesis is concerned with
geographies of primary healthcare
services in Nigeria and is aiming to make
evidence based recommendations with a
view to informing policy and practice for
improving the health and wellbeing of
disadvantaged population subgroups.
"The COVID-19 pandemic has had great effect on my personal finances.
There has been a drastic reduction in part-time employment opportunities
with which to financially support my studies at Newcastle University.
The financial support I received from the University has been invaluable in
securing both my personal wellbeing and ensuring the timely completion
of my thesis. Without this, it would have been impossible to meet my basic
needs at the peak of the COVID-19 lockdown and focus fully on my
studies at a vital time. Due my personal circumstances, I was unable to
seek financial help from family back home. The funds I received from the
bursary were my only source of financial support during the COVID-19
outbreak. They greatly alleviated the potential negative effects of the
pandemic and facilitated the timely submission of my thesis.
I thank donors for their invaluable financial support for effected students
like myself. From my personal experience, I can assure you that your
donations make positive impacts on the wellbeing of recipients. Without
these donations, students like me, with genuine financial difficulties,
would not have been able to meet their basic needs during lockdown."
02

NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY
COVID-19 Student Emergency Fund
Sidharth (pictured inset), studying Electronics Engineering, was another
who received a bursary made possible by your donations. Sidharth is
also working to help the healthcare industry. His work is interdisciplinary
and borrows a problem statement from genomics. He is working to
produce a novel solution that allows the processing of massive amounts
of genomic data produced in an energy-efficient manner. Thus assisting
bioinformaticians and geneticists by allowing cost effective processing
and analysis of data.
"The COVID-19 pandemic and the
lockdown measures hampered my
studies significantly. Due to the
laboratory facilities closing, my work
stopped at a critical stage. As a result, I
had to extend my submission
deadlines. This was an extremely
stressful situation and was not
something I had been anticipating.
Thankfully, I received financial support from the COVID-19 Emergency
Fund set-up by the University to help students facing immediate financial
difficulties. This helped cover my living costs and the shortfall of losing
work.
I had been working as an academic support worker assisting disabled
students with note-taking and other general university work, this also came
to an end. Due to lockdown I did not have other sources of income. It was a
big weight on my shoulders.
I would like to sincerely present my gratitude and thanks to the donors who
supported me, and my fellow students, in this time of need. The financial
support has greatly helped me. Thank you."
03

THANK YOU
Sanctuary Scholarship - A
Thank You Letter from Joe
"I always wanted to study at University, but
everyone told me that I can’t because I am
an asylum seeker. When I learned that
Newcastle University was offering a
scholarship for asylum seekers and
refugees, I was so excited. Even though my
chances to get it were low, I was inspired
and I didn’t give up.
I immediately went to the University and got all the information I needed so that I
could apply the very next day. I was amazed how big and beautiful the University
is, I loved it.
It was an amazing surprise when I got the scholarship acceptance email, I
was overjoyed. I was so excited! I can’t thank you enough, every single
individual who helped make this happen. This is a one in a lifetime chance for me
and it will change my life for the better.
I will be studying Chemical Engineering with a Foundation Year. My interest
in the subject started at a career event in my school when I was still in
Lebanon. I already had an interest in chemistry and engineering and after
speaking to someone who was in the field, I decided that this would be
the perfect course for me.
I am still deciding which part of Chemical Engineering I would like to get
involved with when I have finished my studies but I have a lot of
options open to me. From petrol to medical or even working in the food
industry. Hopefully, I will be able to work and make a life in the UK and
continue to make the most of the opportunity I have received.
Thank you again for giving me this opportunity. It means so much."
04

NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY
Childhood Cancer Research
A recent breakthrough has enabled experts to predict relapse in a
common childhood cancer and means doctors can tailor treatment for
each individual child and improve prognosis.
Our research has revealed that experts can identify the time, nature
and outcome of medulloblastoma relapse from the biology of the
disease at diagnosis and the initial therapy received. 247 young
patients around the globe with relapsed medulloblastoma were
monitored as part of the study.
Medulloblastoma is the most common malignant brain tumour in
children and relapse following initial treatment – surgery, radiotherapy
and chemotherapy - has a grave prognosis. Relapse occurs in
around 30% of children, usually within five years of diagnosis.
The study shows that different biological and treatment groups within
the disease relapse at different times and with different patterns of
spread throughout the body. This research identifies which patients are
most at risk of continuing problems with the disease and provides the
ability to fine-tune treatment and surveillance to improve the child’s
prognosis.
‘Our research is an exciting development for the treatment of patients and it
will help improve clinical outcomes. Our findings also mean that we can
now predict the course of the disease following a relapse and tailor
treatments, enabling us to improve how we manage these patients through
more personalised approaches based on understanding their individual
disease. The funding we receive from our generous donors is vital to
supporting our research, which is having real-world impact on the lives of
children and their families."
Professor Steven Clifford
Director, Newcastle University Centre for Cancer
05

THANK YOU
ONE Planet Fund
Thanks to contributions from over 60 donors, three research projects
have been funded. These projects cover subjects as diverse as research
into the North East coastal community transition from industrial heritage
to a low carbon future, to looking at invasive lobster species in UK
waters, reflecting Newcastle’s multi-disciplinary and diverse approach
to tackling today's global climate challenges.
The ONE Planet Fund has also
supported both Dr Andrea Wilkinson
(right, top) and Dr Simone Mordue
(right, bottom) as Research Associates
in UN Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs) and Small Island Developing
States at the University.
Since joining Newcastle University they
have put in place strategic collaborations
and partnerships to raise our profile,
highlight our innovation in sustainability
and secure funding bids for research
projects that will have measurable, realworld
impact for the most climatevulnerable
populaces.
Andrea was recently successful in securing support from an alumnus
for a pilot project that aims to inspire, empower and equip 30 children
in hands-on climate change knowledge and skills.
With six papers in review, Andrea and Simone are hoping to
disseminate their academic research and scholarship in addressing
intensifying global changes. Andrea has a further three published papers,
as well as being a Peer Reviewer for the Journal ‘Progress in Human
Geography’. She is also a Guest Lecturer, teaching on "Introduction to
International Development" and "Globalisation and Development".
06

NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY
Undergraduate Opportunity Scholarships
With the help of our donors, Newcastle University awards every
student in need an annual scholarship of £1,000 or £2,000. This is the
equivalent of 10-20% of their living expenses and makes a huge
difference to a student struggling to find the money to pay for rent, food,
transport and vital course materials.
Grace (pictured above), is an Opportunity Scholarship recipient and
English Literature student at Newcastle University. The financial support
has made a real difference to her:
"The Opportunity Scholarship has made a difference to me especially
in my first year. If I didn’t have that extra money I would have to work in a
job a lot more, which means I would have less time for my studies. It
means I can be a lot more self-reliant. I’ve used a bit of the scholarship
to give me an extra boost for my weekly budget; food and bills and the
like. The rest I’ve put in my savings to use in case I have any
unexpected costs later in the year, say if my laptop broke or I needed to
invest in something for university. It means I don’t have to worry as much.
A little can definitely go a long way to someone who doesn’t have much.
It’s made a big impact on my life and I’m sure it does for the others who
get this funding, as it affects our quality of living at university in a very
positive way. Thank you to those who support students like me."
07

THANK YOU
Undergraduate Opportunity Scholarships
Support from alumni and donors helped us award means tested
scholarships to 1,331 new students from low income households in
2019-20. With your ongoing support, we are able to honour our ongoing
commitment to social mobility.
Mollie (pictured below), is an Opportunity Scholarship recipient and
Mechanical Engineering student who has plans to join the RAF, and
become an Aero Systems Engineer, after finishing her degree at
Newcastle University. She has just completed her first year of study and
this is her message of how the financial support she has received has
made a difference:
"The scholarship is a huge reassurance for both me and my family,
knowing that I’m going to be able to survive and make the most of my
time at Newcastle. It’s made such a difference and means I’m not
constantly worrying about budgeting and any unexpected payments
that I might struggle with, even simple things like needing to go home
for an emergency. It makes a huge difference. My family haven’t got
the money to provide what other families might be able to, so it’s been
really good to know I’m not going to struggle as a result. It also means I’m
not missing out on anything, as well as knowing I’m not going to make my
Mum uncomfortable by asking for money that she might not have or
stress about. I don’t need to worry about money for stationary,
equipment and food shops."
With your support we can empower even more students in need, like Mollie.
8

NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY
Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust Bursaries
Students Sumaiya Aziz and Hooman Valizadeh are
the first Newcastle University students to be
awarded Stephen Lawrence (pictured inset)
bursaries. The 19-year-olds will have their fees and
a contribution to living expenses paid for the
duration of their three year degree, under a
collaboration between the University and the
Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust. The bursaries
are part of the Trust’s Building Futures programme,
which supports students from under-represented
backgrounds to study and qualify as architects.
“I feel so lucky to have been awarded this scholarship,” says Sumaiya, from
Burnley, who has wanted to be an architect since she was a child. “I used to
tell my uncle I wanted to be an architect even before I really understood what
an architect was. Then as I got older and learned more about it, I realised it
really was what I wanted to be.” Sumaiya knew she wanted to study at
Newcastle University after visiting the institution.
Hooman, from Essex, says: “I feel very honoured to have been awarded this
scholarship. I feel very grateful for this support, especially as most of my
family is many miles away. I knew it was a good university and a good place
to study architecture and that’s why I wanted to study here,” Hooman joins his
older brother in Newcastle where he is currently studying at the Dental
School.
Dr Juliet Odgers, Director of Architecture at Newcastle University’s school
of Architecture, Planning and Landscape said: “We are delighted to
welcome Sumaiya and Hooman into the first year of our BA in Architecture.
It is a privilege to be working with the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust to
support young people from underrepresented backgrounds in this
demanding and exciting area of professional study."
09

THANK YOU
Professor Jimmy Steele Memorial Fund
In setting up this appeal in his name and memory, it was hoped that the
legacy of Professor Jimmy Steele MBE (pictured below) would live on,
not only to offer opportunity to future students of dental sciences but to
inspire them, too.
"Taking the step to start to study Dentistry can be very daunting for
prospective students from less privileged backgrounds. Embarking on a
five-year degree with all the financial burdens that this involves can be too
much when families and young people are already struggling. This kind of
problem should never be the barrier to talented people who have a passion
to study to be a dentist and fulfil their dreams.”
Professor Katie Bushby MD FRCP
Jimmy's wife.
Thanks to your generous donations it will be possible to support more
students from disadvantaged backgrounds follow a career in the Dental
Sciences here at Newcastle University.
"Thank you for supporting this appeal. We will be using the monies donated
to the Jimmy Steele Memorial Fund to assist those from less privileged and
or under-represented groups with their ongoing studies at Newcastle. In the
current academic year there will be a focus on any students who are facing
challenging circumstances because of the ongoing pandemic or come from
disadvantaged and underrepresented backgrounds."
Professor Justin Durham
Head of School of Dental Sciences
10

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support priorities, please contact the Advancement Team:
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