How did the Malcolm Coffin Fund come into play? 

"I knew in the back of my mind that there were travel grants and funds offered by each College and the wider University. It wasn't something I considered in terms of choosing my College but I did think it was interesting — that there might be an opportunity I'd be able to pursue. And then I discovered CLUN and it all fell into place. Applying for the bursary was pretty straightforward, too."

The Malcolm Coffin Fund for HSPS (Human, Social, and Political Sciences) is a relatively recent bursary designed to help undergraduates reading HSPS or History & Politics with funding for dissertation research, travel or other course-related projects. At just over £4,000, it’s astonishing what a difference it is making in empowering Selwyn students to embrace opportunities and pursue dreams. 

Malcolm Coffin studied HSPS at Selwyn. Then, as an alumnus and regular donor already, he was inspired by a friend’s example to increase his philanthropy in the shape of a fund for HSPS. He reflects:

"In my time at College I had the good fortune to travel extensively for my dissertation to drive primary research. The Fund was established to support other talented students pursue their own academic endeavours. Victoria's work with the CLUN is both enriching and hugely impactful, and I'm delighted in having played a supporting role in such valuable pursuits." 

A springboard to self-knowledge and career insights 

Thanks to Malcolm’s vision and generosity, Victoria found herself winging her way to New York in August 2024 — the first time she had been in that city without family, with the freedom to pursue her own academic and professional agenda. She takes up the story: 

"As a CLUN member, I had the opportunity to construct a policy recommendation brief alongside other Korean university students, with our team focusing on the issue of shrimp farming-induced destruction of mangrove forests in Indonesia. Our final product exceeded 80 pages — suggesting a system of integrated mangrove-shrimp aquaculture — presented to and confirmed by personnel working at various UN organisations in New York. Although I was in New York only around two weeks, laying the groundwork began in early May. Thus, on a personal level, participation in CLUN supported by this grant provided me with a valuable and meaningful way to spend my summer, as I diverted most of my efforts during July towards preparing this project."  

"Once in New York, we attended multiple lectures by Korean diplomats and representatives working within different branches of the UN. I found these especially helpful in terms of “hands-on” insights into a career in international relations, which I came to realise is a much more diverse field than I had thought, with distinct and separate streams and areas of focus. This led me to reflect on my own future career path, which I had long envisioned in the field of diplomacy, and what might be a better fit for me instead; now I find myself starting to steer in another direction of international organisation."

The experience enabled genuinely exclusive insights as well as feeding Victoria’s academic ideas and appetite:   

"From an educational perspective, my understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has expanded, as these were a key theme throughout the programme. Being able to engage with people at the UN who constructed and are currently working towards this framework was exciting and inspiring.   

"Plus, I can report a newfound confidence around public policy, which exists as a choice of module (POL22) in my final year of the tripos. Having now devised an entire policy programme from scratch I am more familiar with the technical details and caveats of the process, and I am altogether excited to see how I could transfer this practical knowledge into my academic work. 

"I enjoyed the CLUN experience much more than I expected! I am so grateful for the Malcolm Coffin Fund’s support of my participation in the programme. If I had had to self-fund, it would have created a financial burden that would have made me question: 'is it really worth it?' As it turned out, it far exceeded my expectations, and I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.’" 

Reflections on breadth and depth of meaning: summing it up 

We asked Victoria to describe her experience in one word. 

"Eye-opening. It was a milestone event for me. It certainly put me more in touch with my Korean identity: meeting other Korean students maybe sounds easy enough, but for me it was completely new — almost on par with interacting with other international overseas students. It allowed me to learn so much. 

"And the programme gave me on-the-ground experience that I never would have got from a textbook. It let me encounter New York City on new terms, it shifted my career path, and it focused my mind on the UN SDGs, which I have worked on since high school; there is so much to investigate in this area, and I look forward to exploring sustainability more in my studies. With the SDGs expiring in 2030, and the UN team in the planning stages around what will take their place, I would love to get involved with this!"

What would Victoria tell other students who are considering applying for bursaries? 

"As long as you know what you want to do — it doesn’t matter what it is, no matter how big or small, as long as you are passionate about it — there is nothing to lose. It made a huge difference to me."