Frank wrote:Cardiff University seem to go on and on. You start to wonder if they've got some secret backer
One thing I don't understand is endowments. According to wiki..... Cardiff's is a pittance at £28m. That's lower than pretty much any major UK University I can find. Cambridge was £6bn! Anyway they seem able to fund plenty of new stuff somehow.
Yes, my College has a greater endowement than Cardiff University and most other UK universities for that matter! But then, it did have a head start of a few hundred years. It also helps that alumni have a lingering bond to the College which means we're much more likely to donate. Ivy League universities have a similar culture which benefits them enormously. Bristol tried a fund raising launch a few years ago, but it seems to have gone a bit flat. Most UK unversities are well behind in the game.
Cardiff University has taken a very different approach and has been raising a substantial sum of money through the issue of bonds, the first UK university to do so. They're showing some serious ambition and should be commended for some forward thinking. The idea is to follow similar models to Oxford and Cambridge in the way university-based research is used by spin-off companies set up by the university in nearby business parks that then generate income for the university. This is why the grant money (from the City Deal) for the semi-conductor stuff is so important.
There are some exciting times ahead for Cardiff University and they will bring a lot to the wider city.