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Mumbai-born Reuben brothers donate £80mn to Oxford varsity college
Figuring annually at the top of the UK rich-list, the brothers have major interests in real estate and metals.
A new college established in the University of Oxford in 2019 has been named ‘Reuben College’ following a £80 million donation from a foundation of the Reuben brothers, David and Simon, who were born in Mumbai and went on to build a business empire across the globe.
Figuring annually at the top of the UK rich-list, the brothers have major interests in real estate and metals. Their activities include business links with groups in India such as Sahara, as well as philanthropic and education-related activities in the UK and elsewhere.
Calling the donation a ‘transformational gift’, the university said on Thursday that the college’s initial research themes are: Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning; Environmental Change; and Cellular Life, which includes work in understanding Covid-19.
The Reubens’ gift expands the Reuben Scholarship Programme, which was established in 2012 for disadvantaged undergraduate students, the university said, adding that the college is preparing to recruit its first cohort of graduate students in September.
Louise Richardson, Oxford vice-chancellor, said: “Thanks to the extraordinary generosity of the Reuben family, Reuben College will join the storied ranks of Oxford Colleges. For generations to come, the lives of young people will be transformed as they learn to engage in research that pushes at the frontiers of knowledge”.
The college is located in a suite of buildings on the Radcliffe Science Library site. The buildings are currently undergoing refurbishment to create a central site for students. Some of the space will be shared with the library and the university’s museums.
A university release quoted the Reuben family as saying: “We hope that this endowment for the Reuben College will help keep Oxford University at the global forefront of research in the vital areas of Environmental Change, AI and Machine Learning and Cellular Life, thereby helping to improve the lives of millions of people long into the future.”
According to college president Lionel Tarassenko, it was launched last year with a focus on the three themes of artificial intelligence, environmental change and cellular life. The donation will now enable it to envisage a future that includes more cross-cutting research themes and offer richer engagement opportunities for academics, graduate students and the community, he added.
