University of Sunderland teams up with banking giant in £100k deal to support students
The awards will support students to excel in their studies
The University of Sunderland and banking giant Santander have signed an agreement to double the support the global bank offers to students to help them fulfil their potential.
Their long-running partnership, which has already seen Santander support hundreds of Sunderland students, will offer £100,000 of financial support each year until 2026-2027.
The new support package includes ten £1,000 Brighter Futures Awards, which will help students focus on their studies with less financial pressure, as well as six £5,000 Education Awards, which can be used to cover essential educational costs such as tuition fees, course materials and accommodation.
Six £5,000 Entrepreneurship Awards are also available to graduates to support their fledgling businesses.
In addition, there will also be 120 £250 Employability Awards, which will support students with costs such as travelling to an interview, or covering the essentials for a placement or internship.
All Sunderland staff, students and graduates are also able to access Santander Open Academy: a free global e-learning platform which offers online courses, grants, and expert-led content aimed at helping people acquire and update skills and competencies that are most in demand in the labour market.
Following the announcement of the deal, the University’s Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive, Sir David Bell said: “Our partnership with Santander Universities has been running for nearly eight years and has brought immense benefit to students and staff alike. These new awards will provide the next generation of Sunderland’s most talented people with the opportunity to achieve even greater success in the future.
“I’m enormously grateful to Santander Universities for the continuing trust and faith they have in our university. That speaks to how the values of the two organisations are aligned and our shared commitment to do the very best for all those who study and work at the University of Sunderland.”
Santander UK’s National Partnerships Director Jonathan Powell added: “At Santander we believe strongly in the power of collaboration, and that has been strongly evident in our partnership with Sunderland. It’s great to recognise this and the exceptional impact we’ve achieved together by increasing our support for the university in the renewal of our partnership.
“This new agreement provides more opportunities for people to prosper through our support of education, employability and entrepreneurship.”
Kieran Harley, 25, is in the first year of his Electronic and Electrical Engineering degree and has won one of six £5,000 Santander Education Awards.
He said: “My long-term goal is to work in the renewable energy sector, and winning the award will make a significant difference to my studies.
“The financial pressure that comes with balancing university, part-time work, and caring responsibilities at home can be very difficult.
“The Santander Education Award will allow me to reduce my working hours, giving me more time and flexibility to focus both on my degree, and to better support my mum.”