International opportunities for students as Lincoln renews partnership with Santander

Studying in America and setting up new businesses are just some of the ways a Santander Universities grant of more than £150,000 has been unlocking the potential of students at the University of Lincoln, UK, and the fund has been renewed for three more years.

The £154,500 of funding is available to students over the three years to undertake international scholarship opportunities, support entrepreneurship activities, and encourage diversity and inclusion across the University. The renewal of the agreement with Santander Universities marks the third extension of a major strategic partnership between the University and Santander UK.

Over the past three years activities have included an opportunity for students to develop their entrepreneurial skills through a competition which saw them awarded £2,000 to launch a business. One of the businesses developed by BSc Computer Science students is an online tool for making mobile applications within minutes.

Called AnyMo, the idea is to enable users to set up their own mobile apps for events or business at a fraction of the cost of hiring developers. The second, SGH Catering & Bakery Engineers Ltd specialises in the service and repair of all types of commercial catering and bakery equipment. The £2,000 will support them to develop their business by hiring additional engineers and progress to the next stage of growth.

Other opportunities have included semesters studying at Drury University in Missouri, USA, while students and staff have visited Stanford University in California to find out more about study abroad opportunities, among other activities.

Professor Mary Stuart, Vice Chancellor of the University of Lincoln, said: “We are delighted to renew our partnership with Santander Universities as we share the same commitment to developing future leaders across the globe. “Many of our students and graduates have already benefited from this initiative, which offers valuable opportunities to further develop their creative and independent thinking through travel, studying abroad, exposure to different cultures, and entrepreneurial activities. I look forward to seeing what journeys our students will take in the coming three years.”

Santander Universities was launched in 1996 by the Santander Group to support international higher education. So far, it has donated more than €1.7 billion to universities across more than 21 countries through scholarships, mobility grants, support for special projects and academic and non-academic awards to universities across the globe.

Matt Hutnell, Director of Santander Universities UK, said: “Santander is committed to supporting higher education as well as local communities across the UK. We are proud to continue our partnership with the University of Lincoln for a further three years and look forward to working together in providing even more opportunities which will benefit both students and the local community over the coming years.”

To find out more visit www.lincoln.ac.uk/home/businessengagement/industrylinks/santanderpartnership/