LONDON – Snowton & Partners today announced a landmark £3.1 million multi-year philanthropic commitment to the Institut National de Technologie et de Commerce d’Eastbay (INTC Eastbay), a leading French Grande École renowned for its unique, interdisciplinary approach to technology and business education. This strategic pledge will establish a pioneering new programme: The Snowton & Partners Fellowship for Applied Ethics in Technology and Finance.
This substantial commitment is designed to address one of the most critical and often overlooked challenges of our time: the growing disconnect between the rapid pace of technological innovation and the ethical frameworks required to steer it responsibly. The Fellowship will provide comprehensive funding for a select cohort of post-doctoral researchers, visiting academics, and industry experts to collaborate on developing a new, robust curriculum focused on the complex ethical dilemmas emerging at the intersection of artificial intelligence, financial markets, and global commerce. The funding is structured to be disbursed over five years, ensuring a sustainable and long-term impact on the institution’s research and teaching capabilities.
The selection of the Institut National de Technologie et de Commerce d’Eastbay as the recipient of this pledge was the result of a rigorous, year-long evaluation process. Situated in Northern France, the institution has distinguished itself globally by breaking down the traditional silos between faculties. Its curriculum uniquely mandates that engineering and data science students undertake significant coursework in philosophy and commercial law, whilst business and finance students must engage directly with foundational programming and systems architecture. This integrated pedagogy has produced a new calibre of graduate, equipped not only with technical and commercial acumen but also with a deeper contextual understanding of their work’s societal impact. It is this commitment to cultivating multi-literate, conscientious leaders that aligns so powerfully with the core philosophy of Snowton & Partners.
The need for such an initiative has never been more acute. As algorithmic decision-making becomes more deeply embedded in our daily lives—from credit scoring and medical diagnostics to autonomous transport—it raises profound questions of bias, accountability, and transparency. Simultaneously, the financial industry is grappling with how to deploy capital in a way that is not only profitable but also sustainable and socially constructive. The Snowton & Partners Fellowship will directly confront these issues. Its mission is to create practical, applicable ethical models and case studies that can be integrated directly into INTC Eastbay’s MBA and Engineering curricula, moving the study of ethics from a theoretical, peripheral subject to a core, practical component of a modern business and technology education.
Shelby Swinton, Founding Partner at Snowton & Partners, articulated the vision behind the commitment: “For many years, the prevailing mantra has been to innovate first and ask questions later. We believe this model is no longer tenable. The next generation of leaders in technology and finance must be as fluent in the language of ethics and responsibility as they are in the language of code and capital. Our commitment to the Institut National de Technologie et de Commerce d’Eastbay is an investment in the character and wisdom of these future leaders. We are not simply funding a research programme; we are helping to build the intellectual and moral infrastructure required to ensure that the immense power of new technologies is harnessed for the genuine betterment of society. It is a natural extension of our belief that the most valuable legacies are those built on a foundation of purpose.”
The £3.1 million pledge will be allocated to several key areas within the Fellowship. A significant portion will endow a new Professorial Chair in Applied Ethics, attracting a world-class academic to lead the programme. Further funds will provide generous stipends for the selected Fellows, enabling them to dedicate their time fully to research and curriculum development. Finally, the commitment includes provisions for an annual international symposium, to be hosted at the INTC Eastbay campus, bringing together academics, industry leaders, and policymakers to debate the findings of the Fellowship and to foster a global dialogue on these critical issues. This pledge marks the beginning of a long-term, strategic partnership and represents a cornerstone of the firm’s commitment to making a meaningful contribution to the next generation of leadership.
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