Stephen Cooke Scholarships at the University of Reading

Stephen Cooke was a member of the Board of the Securities & Investment Institute, of the London Stock Exchange, and of APCIMS, the Trade Association for Private Client Stockbrokers and Investment Managers.

He died at a young age in 1997. His particular passion was education and to recognise all he had done towards the creation of the modern City, his friends and business associates set out to raise funds to provide scholarships to students who were considering a career in the financial services industry which would keep his name alive.

The scholarships are to be offered by the University of Reading.

The University of Reading

The University of Reading celebrated its 100th anniversary in 1992 and is now one of the largest campus universities in the UK with around 13,000 students. It covers virtually the full range of academic subjects except medicine and is particularly well known in the fields of agriculture, land management, meteorology, computer science, food science and technology, archaeology and, of course, securities and investment.

Reading is the centre of the UK's silicon valley with many major companies having their UK and European headquarters located in and around the town. These include Compaq, Microsoft, Sun, MCI and Oracle as well as many smaller companies. Reading is the regional centre of Berkshire and has a fast (23 minute) rail link to Paddington. It is also only 40 minutes by road from Heathrow Airport which makes it an ideal location for international business.

The International Securities Market Association (ISMA), based in Zurich, is the trade association and market regulator of some 500 banks and broker/dealers active in the cross-border securities markets. In 1991, after tendering out the project to run its professional education to a number of European and US business schools, it chose Reading as the location of the ISMA Centre.

In 1994, the Centre chose to start a Masters degree specialising in Securities and Investment. This programme differed from any other in the UK in that it included elements of professional education and certification (including the UK Registered Representative qualification), provided students with Reuters, Telerate and Bloomberg terminals, used simulations to teach market making, and used spreadsheets extensively for financial modelling. The Centre now has some 200 Masters students making it by far the largest location in Europe for such specialised studies.

In 1996, the Board of ISMA took the decision to make a gift of £3 million to the University of Reading for the purpose of constructing a new building to house the ISMA Centre. That building was opened in 1998 by Sir Brian Unwin, President of the European Investment Bank. It includes two dealing rooms (with more than 50 terminals), a lecture theatre for 120 students, an atrium café bar, a small library, room for 12 PhD students plus accommodation for staff.

In 1997, the Director of the Centre took the decision to extend the availability of specialised securities and investment education to undergraduate students. On average there are 50 students in each of years one, two and three. The majority of UK students have three 'A' grades at A-level and A-level maths is a requirement for entry. The Centre tries to arrange placements for students in the summer vacation after their second year by which time they are potentially very useful summer interns.

Academic Achievement and Professional Promise

The awards will be made on the basis of both academic achievement and indications of professional promise in the securities industry which has sponsored these awards. Academic performance will be assessed principally on the basis of examination performance. The actual basis will be announced each year at the start of the new session since programme structures at Reading are changing continually over the period 1999 - 2002.

Professional promise will be judged by indications of success in initiatives and activities undertaken by the student prior to, and since, arrival at Reading and through interview by a panel which could includes representatives from the securities community."