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Press release


  • 28 October 2005
  • Students helped by generosity of philanthropist Naim Dangoor


    Naim Dangoor, right, with the then Education Secretary Charles Clarke at the scholarships launch

    Naim Dangoor, right, with the then Education Secretary Charles Clarke at the Dangoor Scholarships launch in December 2004

    A generous gift of £59,000 from an exiled Iraqi businessman will help talented University of Sussex students cope with their first year of studying.

    Fifty-nine first-year undergraduates will each receive £1,000 this year as part of a £1 million scholarship scheme provided by property businessman Naim Dangoor. 

    Mr Dangoor, 90, set up the scheme of 1,000 bursaries to 1,000 students last year to thank the country that gave him protection. He fled anti-Semitic persecution in his native Iraq in the 1960s and came to England, where he had studied engineering decades earlier.

    He said; "I promised myself that if I was ever able to help a British university student I would, to assist the people of the country that welcomed me. But I never dreamt I would be able to make such a contribution."

    The scholarships were made available to students applying to the 1994 Group of 16 research-intensive universities, which includes Sussex. They were aimed at applicants who showed particularly strong academic promise and were from a background of financial or social disadvantage - especially those with no family history of higher education.

    Subjects being studied by the Dangoor Scholars at Sussex include anthropology, biochemistry, English, law, maths, mechanical engineering and psychology. The students will receive their Scholarships at a ceremony at Sussex on Monday, November 21.

    The Dangoor Scholarships were launched last December at a special reception at the Royal Academy, London, attended by the Secretary of State for Education and hosted by University of Sussex Chancellor Lord Attenborough and Vice-Chancellor Professor Alasdair Smith, who was also the 2004 chairman of the 1994 Group.

    Speaking at the launch, Lord Attenborough said: "We are indebted to Mr Dangoor, not only for this magnificent donation, but for the manner in which he has demonstrated to others the vital importance of education for the success of our nation."

    Professor Smith added: "This truly generous donation from Naim Dangoor will be of enormous help to talented students."

     

    Notes for editors 

    Press office contacts: Jacqui Bealing and Maggie Clune, tel: 01273 678 888 or email J.A.Bealing@sussex.ac.uk or M.T.Clune@sussex.ac.uk

    For further details on the Dangoor Scholarship Scheme, visit, http://www.sussex.ac.uk/scholarships_and_bursaries/ug/uk/dangoor.php

     

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