Asian tycoon donates £8m to help fund world-leading medical centre

Published on Thursday 21 February 2008 20:59

THE University of St Andrews yesterday unveiled plans for a new £45 million school for medicine and science that aims to collaborate research into areas such as cancer, psychology and infectious diseases.

The school will be funded in part by an 8 million donation by Malaysian business tycoon Vinod Sekhar – thought to be the largest gift ever made by an individual to a Scottish university.

In Kuala Lumpur for the launch, Dr Brian Lang, principal and vice-chancellor of the university, said it was a groundbreaking move for St Andrews.

"This is about establishing Scotland as a world-leading centre for multi-disciplinary leading edge research," he said.

"It's about finding solutions for diseases and problems that are worldwide."

The school will be named after Mr Sekhar's father, Dr BC Sekhar, known in Malaysia as the father of the natural rubber industry, who died last year following a heart attack.

Mr Sekhar, 39, a businessman who runs a technology conglomerate named Petra Group, said he was delighted to be involved.

"What I saw when I visited St Andrews in December was a major university that has an integrated approach to the sciences in terms of research and development and I'm very pleased to be involved.

"I'm looking forward to seeing the exchange we can create between Malaysia and St Andrews." Part of Mr Sekhar's donation will be used to finance a scholarship fund which will allow students from across Asia to study at St Andrews. The medical school is expected to start construction this summer, pending planning approval, and is due to be completed in 2010.

While the donation is a major boost, fundraising is continuing to meet the cost. Dr Lang defended suggestions that foreign investment on such a scale in a Scottish educational institution was inappropriate.

"Higher education is international," he said. "The top scientists and academics all work at an international level. If you're going to be a research intensive university and have an impact you've got to work at an international level. That means collaborating around the world."

As part of the deal a new company will also be formed, Petra Biophotonics, in partnership with the university, which will aim to bring St Andrews' medical science research to market.

"The university is excited at the prospect of working with Petra to commercialise our biophotonic research," said Dr Lang. "Petra has the management expertise, market knowledge and capital that we require to maximise the potential of the university's research."

Dr BC Sekhar's friend, Sir Geoffrey Allen, the former head of research at Unilever and a previous vice-president of the Royal Society, said the school was a fitting honour for "a great man".