The University of British Columbia and HSBC Bank Canada celebrated on Monday the ongoing legacy of a $2.8-million commitment that has supported UBC Robson Square, the UBC Learning Exchange and student scholarships and awards.
In 2002, HSBC Bank Canada awarded UBC a $1.4-million gift that was matched by the university. To date, the gift has helped fund the education of 84 graduate and undergraduate students through scholarships and awards.
To mark this achievement, UBC President Stephen Toope and HSBC Bank Canada President and Chief Executive Officer Lindsay Gordon unveiled the HSBC Scholarship Award Winners wall at UBC Robson Square next to HSBC Hall.
“We are delighted with the ongoing support from HSBC towards UBC students and programs such as the Learning Exchange,” said Toope. “This relationship ensures that UBC continues to make a positive impact, both at home and around the world.”
“At HSBC Bank Canada, we believe that access to higher education is key to ensuring the future prosperity of the country,” said Gordon. “We are especially pleased that these HSBC Scholarships and Awards will help deserving students achieve their goals at UBC and we hope that the recipients will go on to make significant contributions to the community in the future.”
Among the students present at the unveiling was Kulveer Parhar, who received an HSBC Emerging Leader Scholarship in 2009 while pursuing studies in UBC’s Kinesiology & Health Science Program. Parhar, now a first-year medical student at UBC, is the president of UBC Best Buddies and the AIDS Community Action Network. He has spent summers volunteering at a charitable hospital in rural India and has conducted research at UBC’s Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics.
UBC received a further $2.17-million donation from HSBC Bank Canada in 2009 to support community initiatives in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. The funding supports the UBC Learning Exchange and addictions research by UBC’s Faculty of Medicine in partnership with St. Paul’s Hospital.
HSBC Bank Canada, a subsidiary of HSBC Holdings plc, has more than 260 offices, including over 140 bank branches, and is the leading international bank in Canada. With around 8,000 offices in 87 countries and territories and assets of US$2,418 billion at 30 June 2010, the HSBC Group is one of the world’s largest banking and financial services organizations.
The University of British Columbia (UBC) is one of Canada’s largest and most prestigious public research and teaching institutions, and one of only two Canadian institutions to be consistently ranked among the world’s 40 best universities. Surrounded by the beauty of the Canadian West, it is a place that inspires bold, new ways of thinking that have helped make it a national leader in areas as diverse as community service learning, sustainability and research commercialization. UBC attracts $550 million per year in research funding from government, non-profit organizations and industry through 7,000 grants. For more information, visit: www.ubc.ca
-30-