Making a difference - February 2017

Supporting our Students - Your support has enabled our students to reach their full potential thank you!

Students Celebrate Success

Thank You The recent Ulster University Scholarships and Awards Ceremony was a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the achievements of our students. 100% of the Ulster University Student Fund scholarships and awards are provided by donations from our graduates, staff and friends with 100% going directly to support students. This year, we were delighted to present 39 students with an award. With the increased support throughout 2016, we were able to distribute an additional £10,000 to students than last year .

Many of our generous donors attended the ceremony and witnessed first-hand how their support really does make a difference. Mr and Mrs O’Doherty attended the ceremony for the first time. Roderick and Linda graduated in 1988, Roderick in Computer Science for Business and Linda in Biological Chemistry. Both studied at our Coleraine campus.

Thank You “Having benefitted from the student hardship fund during our time at Ulster University, it makes sense and feels good to be able to return this support to help students today. The Ulster University Scholarships and Awards ceremony in December provided a great opportunity for us to hear more about the impact of our support – how it really makes all the difference to students’ experience of academic life. And be inspired by so many ambitious and driven young people.

One student was unable to be present to accept his award, but with very good reason. Jordan Sloan who has received a highly sought after Sports Scholarship, was competing on the day of the ceremony at the Ulster Swimming Championships. Jordan is the Irish National Champion in swimming the 200m freestyle and we are delighted that Jordan won his race, so it was well worth him missing the ceremony! The Student Fund is proud to be supporting students like Jordan who are truly excelling in their field.

However, the need is still outweighing the support we can provide. With the continued and increased support of our graduates and staff we aim to ensure this support increases year on year so that we can support more students. Thank you.

If you would like to find out how to support the Ulster University Student Fund please email studentfund@ulster.ac.uk or go to ulster.ac.uk/daro/donateonline

Santander CEO visits Ulster University to celebrate a great partnership

Thank You In December 2016 Ulster University was delighted to host the first visit by a CEO of Santander plc to a Northern Ireland university. CEO of Santander Plc Nathan Bostock and Managing Director of Santander Universities UK, Matt Hutnell spent time with staff, students and local small/medium business owners at an informal lunch overlooking the work that is taking place on the new phase of the Belfast campus development. Through its corporate social responsibility division, Santander Universities, Santander has provided upwards of £800,000 of funding to staff and students across the University including internship and work placement support.

Nathan Bostock said that: ‘The partnership with Ulster University is a brilliant example of how two very different institutions can work together. It’s been great to meet students and staff, and see first-hand the real impact of our joint programmes, in particular the internship scheme which is helping to improve the employability of young people in the region as well as giving local businesses access to young talent.”

Business owner Aaron Gibson from marketing automation platform for apps company Hurree recently hosted one of the Santander interns and said: ‘We are absolutely delighted to have Ulster University students work as part of our team. Emma Mullan was one of our Santander Universities interns and she made a fantastic contribution. So much so that she now works for us.’

For more information about how your company can become involved in the Santander Universities SME internship scheme, please see: https://www.ulster.ac.uk/business/employers/recruit-students

Image: From left: Santander University Relationship Branch Manager Paddy Moohan, Vice-Chancellor Professor Paddy Nixon, CEO of Santander UK Nathan Bostock, and Managing Director of Santander Universities UK Matt Hutnell on the Belfast campus in December.