Santander Universities is opening up students' horizons internationally

Santander Universities; financial support, real experience and travel

Santander has partnered with the University since 2011 – investing over £1 million to date. Its support has helped students from widening participation backgrounds attend University, improved student’s entrepreneurial skills so they can create and develop new businesses, and provides internship opportunities allowing students to do paid work experience. Many students have undertaken placements with small and medium-sized businesses, allowing them to acquire enterprise skills and increase their business ‘know-how’.

Santander’s wide-ranging support

  • Undergraduate and Postgraduate Scholarships for students to study abroad in Santander partner countries
  • Mobility Awards to enable students and staff to conduct research abroad
  • Bursaries for students to undertake professional work experience in Social Enterprises
  • Internship opportunities allowing undergraduate and postgraduate students to do paid work experience with SMEs
  • Supporting the University of Birmingham Formula Student Team
  • A  Digital Innovation Fund for projects enhancing the student/staff experience

What studying abroad means for students

‘I’ve done things I never thought I would,’ says Aaliyah Simms, an Access to Birmingham student (now part of Pathways to Birmingham. The mobility awards enable students like her to study abroad in Santander partner countries – some of whom might never have had the chance to travel before.

In June 2019, 24 Birmingham students from our flagship Access to Birmingham programme travelled to Hong Kong thanks to support from Santander, and had the opportunity to meet local alumni and businesses as part of the visit. Watch their video diaries of their experiences and what they learned on the trip.

Find out how you could fund vital research like this

If you are inspired by the huge impact Santander Universities is making for students, get in touch to see whether supporting scholarships or access programmes could be right for you.