Education

Saïd Business School

Wafic Saïd is the founding benefactor of the Saïd Business School, which was established in 1996, and is part of the University of Oxford. It has since become one of the highest-ranking business schools in the world with a reputation for entrepreneurship and innovative business education.

Access to higher education is part of Wafic Saïd’s heritage. His father, Rida Saïd, founded the first university in Syria – now Damascus University. Its graduates went on to drive development in Syria and across the region, leaving Wafic Saïd with an enduring belief in the power of higher education to bring about positive change.

The Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford was founded to help business benefit from Oxford’s teaching and values. The school is already one of the highest-ranking business schools in the world and is a model for how a top business school can draw on the learning of a great university in ways that benefit the practice of business globally. Wafic Saïd has been the major donor of the School’s buildings through the Saïd Foundation, which  also supports many other activities at the School including MBA and doctoral scholarships, faculty recruitment, the careers and alumni services and entrepreneurship initiatives.

Wafic Saïd was one of the first two recipients of the University of Oxford’s highest award for philanthropy, the Sheldon Medal, awarded to recognise contributions that have made a significant strategic difference to the life and work of the University.