AN INDIAN entrepreneur who leads the world's largest vaccine maker has donated £4.2 million to the University of Westminster to fund scholarships in science and health for students from all backgrounds.
Adar Poonawalla, chief executive of the Serum Institute of India, graduated from the London university in 2002.
According to a statement, the university will establish the Serum Institute Pathways to Excellence Programme, which will fund scholarships and fellowships for students studying health and life sciences, from undergraduate level through to doctoral research.
The programme aims to identify future leaders who will address global health challenges including disease prevention and biodiversity conservation. It will also support students in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
Applications for the programme are expected to open in early February on the university's scholarship webpage.
Poonawalla said, "The University of Westminster played a formative role in my personal and professional journey. Through the Pathways to Excellence in Health and Life Sciences Programme, we aim to widen access to STEM education, nurture diverse talent and empower the next generation of scientists."
The 45-year-old executive joined the Serum Institute in 2001 after completing his degree at Westminster Business School. He became chief executive in 2011 and has since expanded the company's reach from 30 countries to more than 170, tripling its turnover and production capacity to four billion vaccine doses annually.
Under his leadership, the Pune-based company has developed vaccines for pneumonia, rotavirus and HPV. The firm also collaborated with the University of Oxford on a malaria vaccine and played a key role in manufacturing the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine.
Professor Peter Bonfield, vice-chancellor of the universit, said the donation marked "a defining moment" for the institution.
"This investment is an essential endorsement of our commitment to widening access and accelerating impactful research in STEM and life sciences," he said.
Jordan Scammell, head of development and fundraising at the university, described it as "the most significant contribution from an alumnus in recent years."
In 2012, Poonawalla and his wife Natasha established the Villoo Poonawalla Charitable Foundation in memory of his mother, who died in 2010. The foundation has built schools and hospitals in Pune and operates waste management and clean water programmes in the city.
In 2020, the Serum Institute donated £50m to Oxford University to fund the Poonawalla Vaccines Research Building, which houses researchers from the Jenner Institute. Poonawalla has also founded Poonawalla Fincorp, which provides loans to small businesses, and h2e Power Systems, a company developing hydrogen fuel cells.
Kaushika Patel, pro vice-chancellor of liberal arts and sciences, said the programme would create opportunities for students "who may not have been able to attend university or progress into higher levels of learning and research."
