Donor Report 2020 Eng

Donor Report 2020 Eng

DONOR REPORT

YOUR SUPPORT: OUR THANKS.

2020

1,135 TOTAL NUMBER OF DONORS 100% PROPORTION OF YOUR DONATIONS AND GIFT AID SPENT ON THE CAUSE YOU CHOSE

£1,430,309 CASH DONATIONS RECEIVED 855 NUMBER OF FIRST-TIME DONORS 1.06% PROPORTION OF ALUMNI DONATING

0% THE ADMINISTRATIVE FEE WE ‘TOP-SLICE’ FROM YOUR DONATION 17 THE NUMBER OF PROJECTS FUNDED BY DONATIONS WHICH OTHERWISE MAY NOT HAVE GOT STARTED 19 THE AGE OF THE YOUNGEST DONOR 92 THE AGE OF THE OLDEST DONOR

NUMBER OF VOLUNTEER HOURS 136 NUMBER OF VOLUNTEERS

55:45 THE PROPORTION OF MALE: FEMALE DONORS 32 NUMBER OF COUNTRIES FROM WHICH WE HAVE RECEIVED DONATIONS

614

WELCOME Dear alumni and friends, 2020 has been an extraordinary year for us all. The onset of a global pandemic, the impact of which continues to be felt across the world and across so many aspects of our lives, has transformed the ways in which we live and work together. We, like so many institutions, have relied greatly upon the strength of our connections as we adjust to our new, more virtual world. During our centenary year, it has been helpful to draw upon our one hundred year history of resilience in the face of adversity. In spite of the challenges, I am incredibly proud of our Swansea University community and of our response to the events of 2020. Our position as a leading research institution has enabled us to support national and international responses to Covid-19, from researching new medical approaches, to providing evidence and insights to inform policy and address the effects of the virus upon our society. I am equally proud of our brilliant network of alumni and supporters, who have so generously provided both their financial and moral support for our University’s work, a snapshot of which I am pleased to be able to share with you here. It has been inspiring to see the many ways in which people have come together to respond positively and with purpose, both at an individual and a collective level. Your donations and support are a key part of those efforts, funding work which would otherwise not have been possible and helping to ensure that our most vulnerable students are supported through the Student Hardship Fund.

Alongside our Covid-19 focused activity, our University researchers and staff have continued to focus on the longer-term grand challenges of our time. Over the last year, donations from alumni and friends have supported many projects which are addressing some of the world’s most complex problems, such as biodiversity loss, climate change, and improving race relations. Some of these excellent projects are also featured here. Finally, I would like to give our sincere thanks to all of our volunteers. These donations of time have been invaluable, especially to our students and young alumni, many of whom have benefited greatly from this support during a challenging period. I hope, for example, that you are as inspired as I am by the testimonial from our class of 1982 alumnus and volunteer, Sandeep. Thank you again for your fantastic support, which has been so vital to us this year. We hope to be able to see many of you again soon and in the meantime, I hope that you and your families stay safe and well.

Professor Paul Boyle Vice-Chancellor

OUR RESPONSE TO CORONAVIRUS

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Swansea University is at the forefront of research into many facets of the novel coronavirus pandemic. With your help, we’re doing all we can to apply our expertise and help provide solutions. Swansea alumni and friends have had a direct and significant impact on some important elements of this vital work. In the last few months, you have helped us to fund research projects, including: • Studying plasma blood transfusions using donations from recovered Covid-19 patients as treatment for severe Covid-19

Developing low-maintenance, anti-viral copper surface door furniture for clinical settings Examining the experiences of paramedic students that have continued with their clinical practice during the pandemic Analysing public attitudes and behaviours around social distancing

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Fostering pro-social responses to Covid-19

Supporting our students through their experiences of the pandemic

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Computer-aided identification and development of new treatments for viral infections Researching the spread of disinformation on social media and its implication for the pandemic

Read on for an insight into some of these fascinating projects.

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politicians they already endorse vs. the opposition? The results confirmed this prediction: both Democrat/Labour and Republican/Conservative partisans supported a Covid-19 mitigation policy more when it came from their own party compared to the opposition. This was partly due to trust in one’s own group and distrust in the out-group. Even more importantly, they showed that the public supports and trusts the policies proposed by non-partisan experts more than they trust policies proposed by their party of preference. This is an important finding”, says Dr Jiga-Boy, “because it contradicts the popular belief that the general public has ‘had enough of experts’. In fact, in times of crisis such as this, it shows that the public might have ‘had enough’ of partisan politics and politicians instead. “This project is a tremendous group effort, with colleagues from universities around the world”, continues Dr Jiga-Boy. “I received £3,672 from Swansea University’s Greatest Need Fund, which we used in April 2020 for participant payment for one experiment conducted in the US 1 and two studies in the UK 2 . The protocol, materials and >Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21

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