Santander Universities extends support for Abertay students

Santander Universities extends support for Abertay students

Range of projects to benefit from 3 more years of funding

Abertay University has extended its successful partnership with Santander Universities for another 3 years, enabling further support for a range of important projects.

The agreement with Santander, through Santander Universities will provide £50,000 towards student enterprise support, internships and Abertay Students’ Association activities, in addition to support for widening access students through the Abertay Opportunities Fund.

We’re proud to continue our partnership with Abertay University for a further three years to ensure we can work together in providing even more opportunities which will benefit both students and the local community, particularly during this challenging time.

BSc (Hons) Fitness, Nutrition and Health student, Emma Brough (pictured below), previously used the fund to support her studies.

She said: “As I'm a mature student and financially independent, I was worried about how I would make ends meet when I needed to cut back the hours at my part-time job to attend my work placement. The Santander Opportunities Fund really reduced the financial burden for me for three months so I could focus on my studies.”

The additional funding from Santander Universities will also support the continued success of Bell Street Ventures, Abertay’s enterprise hub for student and post-graduate start-ups.

Simon Fraser, Enterprise Officer, Abertay University, Bell Street Ventures said: “Through the support of Santander Universities, over the past 6 months Bell Street Ventures has been able to award over £11,000 directly to our students and graduates who are developing businesses. This support has come at a vital point for these start-ups, navigating the world of business during unprecedented times allowing them the time and space to work on their products and services. Start-ups and job creation will play an important role in the post-Covid world, so the continued support from Santander will allow more students and graduates to realise their ambitions of starting a business and becoming entrepreneurs.”

Santander Universities has also hugely helped the multi-award-winning Abertay start-up, Konglomerate Games, who develop healthcare videogames to improve people’s lives.

In addition to securing a paid internship and grant funding, the company also received £30,000 equity free seed funding from Santander, after winning the UK-wide Santander Universities Entrepreneurship Awards last year.

The continued support from Santander Universities for 2021 will support Abertay’s Careers team to run its internships programme, which matches students to employers to give them workplace experience on real projects.

Head of Fundraising at Abertay, Loretta Bresciani said: “We are delighted to be continuing this partnership with Santander Universities, who have been a fantastic supporter of the University in recent years, including providing additional support with emergency funding for our students during the pandemic. This renewed funding for 2021 will have tangible benefits for our students in a multitude of ways and we are hugely grateful to Santander Universities for backing the student talent we have here at Abertay.”

Director of Santander Universities, Matt Hutnell (left) and Principal of Abertay University, Professor Nigel Seaton.

Matt Hutnell, Director, Santander Universities, said: “Santander is committed to supporting higher education as well as local communities across the UK. We’re proud to continue our partnership with Abertay University for a further three years to ensure we can work together in providing even more opportunities which will benefit both students and the local community, particularly during this challenging time.”

For more information about Santander Universities or how to work with the Abertay fundraising team, contact fundraising@abertay.ac.uk.