The Oxford Foundry (OXFO), an entrepreneurship centre at the University of Oxford, has launched a two-part action plan to accelerate solutions to problems caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Foundry team has convened a global taskforce of more than 60 entrepreneurs, policy-makers, investors, business leaders, and philanthropists. These include Foundry board members, advisors and supporters:
- Mohamed Amersi, founder of the Amersi Foundation
- Biz Stone, co-founder of Twitter
- Reid Hoffman CBE, internet entrepreneur and venture capitalist
- Alexsis de Raadt St James, founder and managing partner of Merian Ventures, board member of the Fulbright US-UK Foundation
- Honorary advisor Arlan Hamilton, founder of Backstage Capital
- Angela Ahrendts DBE, former CEO of Burberry and SVP retail at Apple
- Arunma Oteh, former vice president and treasurer at the World Bank
The Foundry is leveraging the University’s faculty, alumni and student networks, which provide support as mentors and champions.
Since it was opened by Saïd Business School two years ago, the Foundry has accelerated 32 start-ups, with 13 of these actively engaging in the fight against COVID-19. The ventures include a GP-to-patient remote platform that has scaled in three weeks to help hundreds of thousands of patients, fever detection cameras, sensors to monitor NHS hospital bed availability, a communication platform for care home residents and families to keep in touch, and a remote tutoring app for students.
The first part of the Foundry’s action plan is to dramatically scale-up support and access to networks and grant funding for these 13 start-ups. Through its network of entrepreneurs and business leaders, the Foundry provides the crucial runway and resources needed to achieve the maximum impact, as rapidly as possible.
The second part is the OXFO COVID-19 Rapid Solutions Builder, an initiative designed to find and scale up innovative solutions to challenges that will arise from the pandemic in the foreseeable future.
The Rapid Solutions Builder is opening the call to all Oxford students and alumni who have innovative solutions within four critical areas: Healthcare, Education, Inclusive Social Engagement and Mobility, and Operations, Logistics and Supply Chains. The four most viable solutions will be put onto a newly created two-month intensive programme, where they will be supported by a curriculum of masterclasses, a network of mentors, and public and private sector partners to provide critical operational, technical and infrastructural support.
Critically, the Foundry will also be making the call out to students and alumni to contribute time and expertise to proposed solutions and ventures. This will be done through partnerships with student societies such as Oxford AI Society, Engineers without Borders Oxford (EWBOx), and Oxford Biotech Society. The provision of grant funding will aid the vital growth and development of these solutions.
Participants will be further guided by industry experts who will ensure that their solutions are developed for integration into wider national and global systems with rapid implementation, including:
- Colum Conway, chief executive of Social Work England
- Dr. June Raine, interim chief executive of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency
- Evan Sharp, co-founder of Pinterest
- Sir Charles Godfray, director of the Oxford Martin School
Ana Bakshi, director of the Oxford Foundry, said: “The COVID-19 pandemic is shining a fierce light onto the areas of our society that urgently need fixing. It has highlighted the inequalities, the divisions, and the scarcities. Now more than ever, it has shown us that there is a huge need for us to be connected and supported by ties of community, empathy, and compassion. Right now, our world is being reshaped and reframed by this pandemic, presenting our post-COVID-19 society with multiple challenges.
“Universities are uniquely placed to address these, being home to multiple communities and having the capability to bring them together rapidly and effectively. We have repurposed the majority of the Foundry team’s time towards our COVID-19 response and are determined to feed into the huge efforts being made across the world.”
