Exeter alumnus David M. Webb MBE makes gift to endow Fellowship in Computer Science
David Webb was awarded an MBE in June 2025
Exeter College is delighted to announce a landmark gift from David Webb (1983, Mathematics), whose generosity will permanently endow the College’s first Fellowship in Computer Science.
The new David M. Webb Fellowship in Computer Science secures the future of this important subject at Exeter. Professor Sandra Kiefer, already a Fellow of the College, will serve as the first David M. Webb Fellow in Computer Science.
David, who is living with terminal cancer, wished to make this gift in his lifetime as a lasting legacy to the College where he studied Mathematics.
A former investment banker turned activist shareholder, David has spent nearly three decades campaigning for transparency and accountability in Hong Kong’s financial markets through his independent platform, Webb-site.com. Earlier this year, he was recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours, appointed as a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to raising standards of corporate and economic governance, particularly in Hong Kong.
This gift is David’s latest in a long record of generosity to Exeter. In 2008, he established the Exeter College Incentive Scheme, which contributed hundreds of thousands of pounds in unrestricted support to the College in recognition of student attainment in Finals. More recently, he endowed the David M. Webb Prize for Academic Excellence, which is awarded to undergraduates achieving Firsts or Distinctions in their first-year exams. This year, he funded an increase in that award to £500 for 2025-26 which thereafter will be indexed for inflation, making it the most generous award of its type in the university.
Mr Webb said:
“In 1983, I was the only student at Exeter who had a computer in college, as I was writing books and games for early home computers while studying maths. 41 years later, Exeter appointed its first Fellow in Computer Science. There is a strong connection between mathematics and theoretical computer science, and as I near the end of my life, I am delighted to be able to secure this post for generations to come.”
Exeter College Rector, Dr Andrew Roe, commented:
“David’s latest gift is the culmination of a long history of extraordinary generosity to Exeter College. From establishing the Incentive Scheme in 2008, to endowing the David M. Webb Prize, and now creating the David M. Webb Fellowship in Computer Science, David has consistently demonstrated his deep commitment to academic excellence and to supporting future generations of Exeter students. We are profoundly grateful for all he has done and continues to do for the College.”
