LSE uses its investments and financing as an opportunity to make a positive impact on the LSE community.
Valuable projects funded by LSE’s Endowments include:
One of our students taking their knowledge to inform their work in development in the future
“I wanted to know more about urbanisation and how that affects in terms of development, especially in the Global South. Coming from a South Asian country, I’ve seen rapid globalisation and development, but I needed more academic exposure and interaction with global experts. I feel like it’s broadening my perspective and my horizon, so that’s something I wish to take away with me and impact in my field of work in the future. Without this scholarship, I wouldn’t be sitting here studying at this prestigious institution. I think there’s just so much talent and opportunity and ability that we don’t recognise, especially in the Global South. With scholarships like this, I think more people will be able to change the world for the positive.”
MSC Student in Urbanisation and Development, recipient of the endowed Robert and Dilys Rawson Scholarship
One of our first-generation university students aspires to shape US policy to benefit those who have historically been marginalised, with a particular focus on education in their home state
“I hope to bring the resources and tools that I’ve been able to receive from my education to help instrument the change I want to see within my community. I plan to use the tools to work with local communities and disadvantaged groups to build policy that’s on their terms and to ensure that disadvantaged communities are part of the conversations about policy. Speaking from my own background, I know what it’s like to be isolated from the policy process. Having the opportunity to pursue my dreams, leave America to come here and work with just such a diverse student body, is truly a life changing experience. I know I could not have travelled all the way from the United States to London without support, and I think LSE really provided me an opportunity to leave my comfort zone and come to a place with so many different groups of people, with so many different perspectives. And I definitely would not have had that opportunity without this scholarship.”
MSc Student in International Social and Public Policy, recipient of the endowed William Simpson Scholarship
One of our students has spent the past decade working as a journalist for the BBC and other organisations, with a special focus on the role online disinformation plays in shaping public policy and conversation in their home country of Nigeria. Their studies at LSE build on their experience and open new professional possibilities in the field of development while continuing efforts to combat disinformation.
Our student is passionate about combatting disinformation because it is “such a dangerous phenomenon. And we’re seeing its impacts on democracy, on health, on the economy, and on so many things around the world.
Scholarship opportunities for African students are so important because Africans have so much to offer. We have some of the smartest, most intelligent people on that continent, but we do not have the opportunities to showcase what we have. Scholarship opportunities like this give us the chance and the opportunity to be on the world stage, to come to places like LSE and be able to work with other smart people from around the globe. You have no idea how much this scholarship has changed my life”
MSC Media, Communication and Development student, recipient of the African Endowment Fund scholarship
The power of academic philanthropy and research – LSE’s STICERD endowment
LSE’s STICERD endowment, established in 1978, has allowed a research community to thrive, bringing together world-class academics to put economics and related disciplines at the forefront of research and policy.
Today, STICERD, led by Professor Camille Landais, works across nine research programmes and a diverse range of disciplines and scientific approaches. With close to 200 graduate students, members of LSE teaching faculty, visiting academics and support staff working across the centres, STICERD is a vast and diverse community and a tangible representation of the convening power of philanthropic endowments.
STICERD’s comprehensive research programme is complemented by a diverse calendar of internal and external engagement initiatives, including public lectures such as the Michio Morishima and Amartya Sen Lectures, seminars in a variety of subjects, and the prolific publication of academic papers and reports.
STICERD’s far-reaching research impact ranges from providing the first evaluation of an anti-poverty programme targeting the ultra-poor, specifically landless women, to investigating the allocation of teaching resources in two million primary schools and how this affects educational outcomes. STICERD’s global influence, typified by the international scope of its research programmes and broad cast of visiting academics and research associates from all over the world, provides a profound illustration of the lasting impact of endowment support for academic and research activity.