Santander Universities is a long-standing partner of the University, providing support for student enterprise, employability and mobility. Given the current situation with COVID-19, planned projects, placements and travel have been put on hold, therefore Santander agreed to re-distribute their funding to a number of emergency philanthropic initiatives with Ulster University.
Business Continuity and Recovery Fund
One such project was the Business Continuity and Recovery Fund where a limited number of £1k cash grants were made available to recent Ulster graduates who are self-employed or who launched their business during the 2019-20 tax year and were therefore unable to avail of government support. Following a large volume of applications, a total of 28 grants were awarded in support of businesses ranging from jewellery design to physiotherapy. The money will be vital in allowing them to continue with their business operations. You can hear from some of the successful recipients and how their money will be used on the Ulster University COVID website.
Schools' Support Programme
A second initiative supported through the Santander Universities’ funding involved supplying local primary and secondary schools in North Belfast and Derry~Londonderry with laptops and supplies so that children who do not currently have a computer can access home schooling. In addition, the money will support the schools themselves in delivering education packs to their pupils. As well as the immediate benefits for the students in receipt of the equipment, the project also provides long-term benefits too, as these same students will become more comfortable and confident about using IT at home, something that will be extremely useful for future jobs and education as remote working becomes the new norm. In addition, these schools will continue to act as a conduit to re-use this equipment for the next few years to come, allowing for future students to benefit also.
Speaking about the schools’ project Eddie Friel, Director of Development and Alumni Relations said:
“Ulster University is fully committed to working with the local communities within which our campuses are situated to enhance education provision, to develop improved educational outcomes and increase career opportunities. We are proud to partner with the Santander Universities network and other project funders to support local schools in both areas and respond to student and community need during the Covid-19 pandemic."
Commenting on Santander Universities’ role in both projects above, Matt Hutnell, Director, Santander Universities said:
“Santander is committed to supporting higher education as well as local communities across the UK so we’re pleased that our funding is able to be redirected to where it is most needed at this critical time. Universities are doing some fantastic work to contribute to the UK’s effort to combat the outbreak of COVID-19, so we’re delighted to collaborate with our university partners in a way which increases their response effort and look forward to continuing to work with them on supporting both students and the broader higher education community with further initiatives over the coming months.”