Intesa Sanpaolo and Oxford Saïd Business School Announce New MBA Scholarships For Women

Oxford Saïd Business School has combined forces with Italian banking group Intesa Sanpaolo to establish the Oxford-Intesa Sanpolo MBA Scholarships. 

This scholarship is only open to women applying for the 1-year Oxford MBA program at Saïd Business School. The scholarship awarded to eligible women – based at Green Templeton College – covers tuition, college fees and living expenses of at least £15,000 (US$18,500).

Another benefit for working mothers is scholars may also be eligible for an additional allowance to help with the cost of childcare during their studies.

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Looking after women

Green Templeton recruits around 70 MBA students annually; in fact, the college has more Saïd Business School students than any other college and has been particularly successful in attracting women.  Looking at the statistics, in 2018, 56 percent of Green Templeton students were female compared to 43 percent across all other graduate colleges in the university.

The university and Intesa Sanpaolo established their partnership in 2017, and these scholarships are the most recent outcome of the strategic partnership.

Other collaborative relationships include a research fellowship at Oxford Saïd’s Centre for Corporate Reputation and the funding of events such as the recent Last Supper in Pompeii exhibition at the Ashmolean museum.

Those in the know 

Manu Gupta (pictured) begins her studies in autumn 2019 and has been awarded one of the new scholarships, she says, “I'm honored to receive the first Oxford-Intesa Sanpaolo MBA Graduate Scholarship. Being the first woman in my family to work full-time, I greatly value independence and empowerment.

“After working in financial services, I moved to Teach for India and mentored 120 girls at a low-income school in New Delhi, which exposed me to realities in vulnerable communities and gaps in grassroots systems.

“The scholarship will enable me to sharpen my skills as I combine my interests in consulting, project management and social impact and work towards driving large-scale systemic change as a globally networked leader.”

Professor Denise Lievesley, Principal of Green Templeton College, says, “With its diverse and mature community, Green Templeton is an attractive environment for MBA students from across the world. We welcome many students with children who wish to bring their families to Oxford with them.

“These scholarships are completely consistent with our ethos and values and so I am delighted to be part of this initiative with Intesa Sanpaolo and the Saïd Business School.”

Peter Tufano, Dean of Saïd Business School notes the school’s theme for International Women’s Day was #BalanceforBetter, and as a school they seek to advance this goal – and the scholarships will seemingly do this.

He says, “Research shows that a better gender balance in the student cohort leads to better outcomes and so we are proud to increase our scholarship offerings for female applicants to the Oxford MBA this year.

“These scholarships mark a deepening of our strategic relationship with Intesa Sanpaolo, which has already proved to be of great mutual benefit to our institutions. I look forward to welcoming Manu Gupta to the School in September, as one the 43 percent of amazing women in the MBA class.”

Intesa Sanpaolo is also excited about the launch of the MBA partnership, with the MBA scholarships representing the long-term partnership between Oxford University and Intesa Sanpaolo.

Gian Maria Gros-Pietro, Chairman of Intesa Sanpaolo says, “I am particularly pleased that the scholarship is dedicated to overcoming gender disparities, in line with Intesa Sanpaolo’s own inclusion policies for its 90,000 employees worldwide.

“Our collaboration with Oxford University is wide-ranging and includes support for the Saïd Business School’s Centre for Corporate Reputation, an independent research center aiming to understand how the reputations of organizations are created.

“The partnership also includes research and student engagement programs, while a representative of the Bank’s Innovation Center will sit on the Steering Committee of the University’s Circular Economy Lab.”