City, University of London signs a new three-year extension worth up to nearly £350,000 with Santander Universities UK.
Published (Updated )
The extended partnership will provide funding support to City students in three key areas, education, entrepreneurship and employability.
Using this funding, City will continue its commitment to making higher education more accessible through Widening Participation schemes, support student entrepreneurship and provide students with unique experiences to travel abroad with the Common Purpose Leadership Programme.
The new deal was officially signed by Sir Paul Curran, President of City and Matt Hutnell, Director of Santander Universities UK, at a celebratory event with students who had been recipients of the funding.
Professor Sir Paul Curran said: “City has enjoyed a long, successful and warm relationship with Santander since 2007.
“The funding that City has received from Santander has made a real difference to the lives of our students, supporting their education, providing them with opportunities and helping to fund their aspiring business ideas." - President Professor Sir Paul Curran
“We are so grateful for all the support that we have received from Santander and I am pleased to see that this partnership will continue to benefit our students over the next three years.”
Matt Hutnell, Director of Santander Universities UK, said: “Santander is committed to supporting higher education as well as local communities across the UK.
“As our first UK partner, we have a long-standing relationship with City and are proud to be continuing our partnership for a further three years.
“We look forward to working with City to provide even more opportunities which will benefit both students and the local community over the coming years.”
Unique opportunities for City students
Part of the funding will continue to be used to enable Widening Participation students to travel to South-East Asia on a leadership programmes where they are tasked with solving a current global issue.
Third year student Amin Rirash (BEng Civil Engineering), who travelled to Vietnam with City, said: “I had never been that far from home before and that experience of being in a completely different country like Vietnam and meeting students from all over the world was something I never imagined I would be a part of.
“It is so easy to look at opportunities like this and think that I wouldn’t have a chance of doing them, but this is not the mentality you should have. Part of university is about pushing yourself out of your comfort zone and trying things that you may not get the opportunity to do again." - Amin Rirash (BEng Civil Engineering)
“Even if you do not get a place on the trip, there is so much you can take away from the experience of applying. I feel so much more confident in myself now and I feel like this leadership experience will help me in my future career.”
Echoing those sentiments, third year student Nuria Recio Dos Santos, (BSc Accounting and Finance), stressed the importance of students having funding for personal development.
Nuria said: “I have so much passion and drive to achieve the best I can in my degree and career, but that can only take me so far. Having the opportunity to travel and look at myself as a person and a leader is an experience that I could never have got on my own.
“In London, it can often feel like we are living in a bubble when we compare ourselves to developing countries, but as our work is becoming more global, it is vital that we start working with fellow students across the world.
“It is so encouraging to see that this partnership will allow other students who are like me to travel, develop themselves and achieve more than they ever believed they could.” - Nuria Recio Dos Santos, (BSc Accounting and Finance)