Westminster Computer Science BSc alumnus Graham Hobson has generously donated to the University’s Sustainability Fund, allowing the scheme to continue for another cycle. The Fund will enable more colleagues and students from the University to work together towards sustainable development projects.
The Sustainability Fund, formerly known as the Green Fund, provides Westminster students with the opportunity to carry out sustainability-related projects and interventions. Each project is co-created, designed and implemented by students and colleagues, working in partnership and learning from each other.
After sponsoring the 2023-2024 cycle of Sustainability Fund projects, Graham has been encouraged by the University’s innovation and will continue to support the Sustainability Fund into 2025. Throughout the 2023-2024 academic year a variety of projects came to life, including a design plan to increase biodiversity in the University’s Marylebone Campus and the MaSt+ project, a physical and digital materials library at Westminster’s BAIA Studios that supports and promotes ecologically conscious art and design projects.
The new £20,000 donation will allow the Sustainability Fund to offer grants of up to £5,000 for projects which help the University’s schools, departments, communities and partnerships innovatively address the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Grants will be distributed to successful projects through an annual competition, which will take place in December 2024 and January 2025, with project delivery scheduled for June 2025. Project teams will then showcase their work in a final poster exhibition, allowing for further discussion and collaboration.
As a 1986 Computer Science BSc Honours graduate, Graham is committed to supporting technological innovation and collaboration at Westminster. A successful entrepreneur, Graham co-founded the photo printing and personalisation website Photobox.com in 2000, which later merged with Photoways and acquired Moonpig alongside several other leading brands in Europe. The business was sold to Exponent Private Equity in 2015, at which point it employed 1,400 people and turned over more than £300m a year.
Graham is now an entrepreneur, board member and technologist who focuses on advisory and non-executive roles for start-ups and scale-ups in tech-enabled businesses. He also takes on pro-bono advisory work for social impact businesses and causes. Graham regularly shares his knowledge and advice with students at Westminster through various speaking engagements, including last year’s What it Takes to be a Successful Entrepreneur event in partnership with the Westminster Enterprise Network (WeNetwork). The Sustainability Fund projects will further benefit from his expertise through a workshop on how to create a mission-led business held by Graham in the new year.
On Graham’s donation to the Sustainability Fund, Anastasia Lydaki, Sustainable Development Advisor at the University of Westminster, said: "The Sustainability Fund demonstrates the power of enterprise, creativity and collaboration and through all the projects it has enabled we have seen how partnership and leadership can drive innovative and sustainable solutions for the betterment of the world. We are deeply grateful to Graham for enabling us to continue this important work, empowering students and colleagues to advance the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), shaping a brighter future and leaving their legacy to society’s future pioneers."
About the Fund, Graham commented: “I am delighted to be able to support this fund again this year. I strongly believe that mission-led businesses can be more resilient and more impactful for society than traditional businesses. Students taking part in this programme will have the opportunity to design a sustainability-focused business model, gaining some useful experience for their future careers. I look forward to seeing what they come up with.”
On Graham’s support, Jordan Scammell, Head of Development and Fundraising, said: “We are deeply grateful to Graham for his continued generous support of our Sustainability Fund. His commitment to, and engagement with, the programme is helping our students to drive innovative, sustainable solutions that address today’s critical challenges. Thank you!”
The Sustainability Fund and its related projects contribute to the University of Westminster’s strategic priority of Sustainable Development set out in the Being Westminster 2022-2029 strategy. Since 2019, the University of Westminster has used the SDGs holistically to frame strategic decisions to help students and colleagues fulfil their potential and contribute to a more sustainable, equitable and healthier society.
Find out more about the Sustainability Fund at the University of Westminster.
To apply to the Sustainability Fund fill in an application form and send to the Sustainability Fund Team by 12pm on 6 December.
Learn how you or your organisation can sponsor a project.
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