A generous gift from a Royal School of Mines alumnus will create bursaries for students from disadvantaged backgrounds and establish new student prizes.
The alumnus graduated in 1981 and has helped set up the Rocky Fund at the RSM to provide financial assistance to qualified students of Earth Sciences at RSM. The donor always appreciated the opportunity to study at the RSM and whilst
the donor was self-funded was aware there were others at Imperial not as fortunate.
This new source of funding for the Department Earth Sciences and Engineering will create bursaries for undergraduate students in financial need and prizes for outstanding undergraduate students.
As an endowed gift, this donation will fund the prize and bursaries in perpetuity, supporting generations of deserving students from all backgrounds to study geosciences and to thrive during their time at Imperial.
Bursaries to extend opportunity
The Rocky Fund will provide one bursary every year to an undergraduate student who demonstrates exceptional academic potential, but who might otherwise struggle to finance an Imperial education. The first bursary was awarded in mid
2023 to Anna Coates who is started her studies in MSci Geology in October 2023.
Bursaries provide students from lower-income backgrounds with additional financial support and, unlike a loan, do not need to be repaid. For many students from disadvantaged backgrounds, receiving a bursary means they can focus on
their studies, rather than worrying about money or having to work alongside their course.
This donation will support the Department of Earth Science and Engineering’s work to encourage applications from students from backgrounds which are underrepresented in the Department and to improve diversity in the fields of geology,
geophysics and earth and planetary science.
Rewarding academic excellence
The donation will also establish new prizes which will recognise outstanding academic performance. The prizes will be awarded annually, beginning in the academic year 2023-24, and will be open to undergraduate students on any Earth
Science and Engineering course.
The prize aims to nurture academic talent and provide awardees with the funds to further themselves as earth scientists and engineers, whether that means developing their own innovation or business, continuing their studies at Imperial
or at other institutions, or financing research or field trips abroad. The first two prizes were awarded in the summer of 2023 to;
Xaing Yan for the ESE Future Leader in Scholarship
Joshua Warner for the ESE Future Leader in Industry
Hence for these will be know as the Rocky Future Leader Prizes in Scholarship and Industry.
Quote from Professor Tina van de Flierdt: Head of Earth Science and Engineering Department RSM
“We are so grateful for this generous donation, which will help to remove economic barriers that might prevent young people from considering a career in geoscience. Bright young minds from all backgrounds are vital in our community
of problem solvers to tackle the challenge of climate change and to transition to a zero-carbon and zero-pollution society.
Philanthropic support of this kind not only makes a difference for the next generation of geoscientists and engineers but will also enrich and advance industry and academia by making it more diverse and inclusive.
Thanks to the vision and generosity of our alumnus donor, we can attract the best and brightest students, from all financial backgrounds, to choose to study Earth Science and Engineering subjects at Imperial, not just now, but long
into the future.”
The RSMA was very pleased to be the conduit for this incredibly generous donation and has been asked to be a part of the selection committee of both the Rocky Bursary and Rocky Prize. If you are interested in supporting th eRocky Fund
or wish to receive more information about how you can support RSM students then please let us know by emailing us here