Corpus Christi's disqualification reveals a University Challenge for Development Fundraisers

Corpus Christi College have been stripped of this year's University Challenge title because one member of the team, Sam Kay, whilst a student when the competition started, was not when it ended. He couldn't find funding for his Chemistry PhD, and instead became a trainee accountant with PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

The decision was the right one, of course, however sad one feels, especially for Gail Trimble, who scored a high proportion of Corpus Christi's points, and was amongst the most remarkable contestants ever to appear in the competition.

However, what drew my eye was some of the comments left on the BBC 'Have Your Say' message board about the matter.

Martin Mantis, describing himself as a 'Cambridge man' queries "why was this young man refused a PHD grant, bean counters are ten-a-penny, high level research chemists are valuable!"

Patricia Leiper asks, "I wonder why Sam Kay could not fund his education?"

April Showers says, "The most shocking aspect of this is that Sam, a chemist, could not secure funding for his PhD and so is now working as a number cruncher."

These struck me because, when we have worked at Oxford and Cambridge, again and again I have heard about the shortage of funding for graduate studentships. It's the funding gap I hear about most frequently. Each year, every College in Oxford and Cambridge loses out on high quality postgraduates because, simply, the funding isn't there. Some, like Sam Kay, take an entirely different course, whilst others go to where funding is available - usually in the USA.

The implications are clear: the USA accumulates more fine academics and researchers,whilst the UK increasingly becomes the place where good ideas happen but can't be developed.

However, the tone of the comments on the BBC's 'Have Your Say' would suggest that, generally, people don't know about it. I'm just guessing, but I imagine that the majority of those commenting on this issue will be graduates, and many, like Mr Mantis, will be Oxbridge graduates. The very fact that they chose to get involved in this issue suggests that they care about universities.

In other words, they are the very people whom we need to know about the lack of funding for graduate studentships.

To me, the whole affair highlights how much work we have to do in the Development sector. Yes, we have fundraising successes, particularly at Oxbridge. But have we done enough to brand our campaigns? If we really got the message out to the right people, how much better could we do?