University News Last updated 12 August
British tech entrepreneur and Slack co-founder Cal Henderson is donating $500,000 to Birmingham City University (BCU).
The money will help his alma mater tackle the widespread under-representation of women and disadvantaged groups in the UK computing, engineering and technology sectors.
“BCU helped me establish a strong foundation on which I was able to build my career, so I’m thrilled to be able to give back to this community and to help support the next generation of engineers and entrepreneurs,” said Henderson, who is now based in the United States.
This philanthropic gift, which comes via the Henderson Family Foundation, will be distributed in the form of almost 150 scholarships, bursaries and progression awards over the 2024/25 academic year.
“I want to issue my heartfelt thanks to Cal and Rebecca Henderson for their substantial donation,” said BCU Vice-Chancellor Professor David Mba.
“It will enable the University to launch an ambitious and exciting programme of activities designed to widen access to computing, engineering and technology subjects.
“At a time of increased economic uncertainty, this investment will be genuinely transformational in improving the lives and livelihoods of a great many young people.”
BCU is already working hard to make university more accessible. It has more than 30,000 students on a mix of undergraduate, postgraduate and other higher education courses.
Of those, 45% originate from IMD quartile 1 (most deprived areas).
As for students in the faculty of Computing, Engineering and Built Environment (CEBE):
- Around 26% were eligible for free school meals in 2023/24, up from 22% in 2022/23;
- And in 2023/24, 48% were first generation higher education students, putting them at a relatively higher risk of dropping out because of the challenges of adapting to university life.
The donation from the Henderson Family Foundation will also help BCU address the lack of women studying for degrees in computing, engineering and technology.
The percentage of female undergraduates enrolled on these subjects at BCU in 2022/23 ranged from just 13% to 15%, way below the 59% of women in the wider university.
In addition, a recent Diversity Report from the Chartered Institute for IT claimed that, if current trends continue, it will take another 283 years for the percentage of women working in the UK’s tech sector to match the 48% of women there are in the wider workforce.
The message is similar in the engineering sector. A 2022 report by EngineeringUK outlined a “concerning lack of diversity” amongst engineering students, with analysis showing that just 24% of those working in engineering came from lower socio-economic backgrounds.
Professor Hanifa Shah, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Executive Dean for CEBE, said: “This investment will not only foster a more diverse and inclusive student body but also empower future leaders in technology and entrepreneurship.
“We will provide unparalleled opportunities for students to engage with industry leaders, nurture groundbreaking ideas, and, ultimately, drive socio-economic mobility and innovation.”
Now living in San Francisco, Cal Henderson studied BSc Software Engineering at BCU in the 1990s before starting a consultancy business with a friend, building websites.
He went on to become the chief software architect for photo-sharing application Flickr as well as the chief technology officer for cloud-based team communication platform Slack.
When it was launched on the New Stock Exchange in 2019, Slack was valued at more than $20 billion before being bought the following year by Salesforce for $27.7 billion.
Henderson was named BCU’s Alumnus of the Year in 2016 and was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University in 2019 in recognition of his contribution to the field of technology.
The impact of the BCU-Henderson Family Foundation project, which will initially run for a year, will be measured by the number of students progressing towards high classification degrees, launching startups, and/or creating spin-off businesses.
The donation from the Henderson Family Foundation will be distributed in the following ways:
- Henderson Scholarships. Six one-year full-fee scholarships worth £9,250 for undergraduate students from under-represented backgrounds, awarded on the combined basis of merit and financial need.
- Henderson Access Bursaries. 50 bursaries of £2,000 for undergraduate students from under-represented backgrounds awarded on the basis of financial need to help with living costs in year one.
- Henderson Awards. 27 awards of £2,000 each to motivate and reward excellent performance and encourage progression from year to year.
- Henderson Opportunity Fund. To provide small grants to students (not currently in receipt of a scholarship or bursary) who need financial support with travel, equipment, study tours, work placements etc.
- Henderson Innovation Seed Fund: Prizes for 2nd and 3rd year UG students, awarded via BCU's annual Innovation Fest, to help encourage entrepreneurship in final projects.
For more information on the Henderson Family Foundation initiative and how to apply, visit www.bcu.ac.uk/henderson-scholarships