Partnership with Oxford University: supporting inclusion and excellence

Since 2017, Intesa Sanpaolo has been collaborating with the University of Oxford and the Saïd Business School – the University's renowned management school and home to one of the world’s most prestigious Master in Business Administration (MBA) programme. Renewed in 2024 for a further five years, the partnership includes, among other initiatives, the funding of scholarships for MBA students, the establishment of the Oxford–Intesa Sanpaolo Prize, and the reopening of the Gallery of Roman and Etruscan Antiquities at the Ashmolean Museum – Oxford’s public museum of art and archaeology and a world-class centre for historical and archaeological research.

Among the initiatives that reflect Intesa Sanpaolo’s close relationship with the University of Oxford, a highlight is the reopening in May 2025 of the Roman and Etruscan Antiquities Galleries at the Ashmolean Museum.

The project has transformed a display that had remained largely unchanged since 2009. Today, a newly redesigned exhibition—featuring brighter, more welcoming spaces—enables new storytelling approaches, including a virtual journey into the heart of ancient Rome. The refreshed galleries bring to life previously untold stories about Italy’s rich ancient history, with artifacts that have never before been on public display.

The new exhibition design is based on up-to-date research and an innovative museographic approach focused on audience engagement. It reflects the Ashmolean Museum’s goal of making its universal collection accessible to all and creating a shared, participatory museum narrative.

From both a thematic and conceptual perspective, this initiative represents a natural continuation of the highly successful 2019 exhibition Last Supper in Pompeii, also curated by the Ashmolean Museum with our support. The exhibition attracted 87,000 visitors in just six months and explored the traditions and daily life of ancient Romans through the narrative of the final meal in Pompeii, on the eve of the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79.

The long-awaited reopening of the Roman and Etruscan Antiquities Galleries represents a major opportunity for public engagement and education, as it is part of the only permanent display in the UK dedicated to this theme, alongside that of the British Museum.

Saïd Business School is an inclusive institution within one of the world’s top universities, committed to providing access to world-class education for the most talented students. Since its foundation, Oxford Saïd has strived to offer international-level training in economics and management to the brightest minds—regardless of financial means, social background, or gender.

Thanks to Intesa Sanpaolo’s support, the Saïd Business School has a significant number of women from all over the world among its students. Of the just over 300 MBA programme students, 93 percent are international students—from 63 countries of origin—and nearly half (48 percent) are women.

To underline the importance of scholarships in the growth and success of young managers, on 8 March 2024 (coinciding with International Women’s Day), Oxford University’s Centre for Corporate Reputation held a special event aimed at Intesa Sanpaolo MBA funding recipients from around the world.

As part of the partnership, in 2024 we sponsored the first Oxford-Intesa Sanpaolo Prize. The prize, aimed at second-year students on the BA in Economics and Management degree, is in collaboration with the Oxford University Centre for Corporate Reputation, an independent research centre within the University’s Saïd Business School. 

The prizes were awarded for the best ‘op-ed’ on the subject: ‘Does responsible business require more formal regulatory intervention?’ The winners, Lucas Rollinson (first), Tinu Reji (second) and Emma Higginson (third), were celebrated on Tuesday 7 May at a dinner at Oxford Saïd, co-hosted by Stefano Lucchini, Chief Institutional Affairs and External Communication Officer at Intesa Sanpaolo and Jacques Moscianese, Executive Director Institutional Affairs at Intesa Sanpaolo, with the awards presented by Mauro Micillo - Chief of IMI Corporate & Investment Banking Division. In addition to cash prizes, Emma Higginson was awarded an internship at Intesa Sanpaolo’s offices in Brussels this summer. 

Emma said: "The Oxford-Intesa Sanpaolo prize was a fantastic opportunity to consider different points of view surrounding such a topical debate. I am incredibly excited to intern with Intesa this summer: from gaining invaluable banking experience to learning about EU working culture, I know that it will be very helpful for my transition to the working world post-graduation".

On October 1, 2024, the University of Oxford inducted Intesa Sanpaolo into the exclusive group of institutions, partners, and companies inscribed on the iconic Clarendon Arch, as a public recognition of the significant contribution the Group has made in support of the University’s academic activities.

This prestigious acknowledgment highlights the Group’s commitment, particularly in funding MBA scholarships for deserving students who can now and in the future access one of the world’s oldest and most prestigious centers of higher education.

Among the benefactors listed on the Clarendon Arch are historically prominent figures such as King Henry VIII, Queen Elizabeth I, and Sir Thomas Bodley, founder of the renowned Bodleian Library.

More recently, the same honor has been bestowed upon Dame Stephanie Shirley, George Soros, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, and the Wolfson Foundation.

Last year, the partnership between the University of Oxford and Intesa Sanpaolo contributed to a significant academic achievement. Samuel Mortimer—a young researcher and recipient of an Intesa Sanpaolo scholarship—won the 2023 prize for Best Dissertation awarded by the University of Oxford’s Centre for Corporate Reputation (CCR), the University’s independent research centre.

Mortimer, who is the first candidate from the University of Oxford to receive this award in its 13-year history, was honoured for his dissertation, “Work: A Philosophical Investigation”, completed while he was a doctoral student at the Wharton School in Philadelphia, considered one of the most prestigious management schools in the world. A paper derived from Mortimer’s work entitled “What Makes Work Meaningful?” has already been published in the Journal of Business Ethics.