A decade of investing in student enterprise

10

YEARS OF SUPPORT AND FUNDING FROM SANTANDER

£184,500

PLEDGED FOR THE NEXT THREE YEARS

£11,000

One of its key programmes is the Santander Universities SME Internship Programme, which provides funding to student enterprises and start-ups through the CEC and has run for three years at Westminster.

Selected SMEs (small to medium-sized enterprises) and start-ups incubated within the University’s Graduate Accelerator Programme are allocated a share of £11,000 either to hire an intern (by funding the salary of a final-year Westminster student or graduate as an intern), or to fund the salary of the start-up’s CEO for up to eight weeks. This investment allows the students’ enterprises to expand, while also providing work experience and opportunities for other students and graduates. This year, the scheme has provided the salaries of two CEOs and four interns.

This year marks a decade of funding from Santander Universities, the sum of which has had an incredible impact on our students’ experiences at Westminster and their employability thereafter.

Santander Universities has been instrumental in the execution of some of Westminster’s most successful student programmes, including Westminster Working Cultures (both in London and internationally) and the Creative Enterprise Centre’s (CEC) workshops, competitions and events.

To commemorate the ten years of support from Santander and show appreciation for its further commitment of three more years of funding, the University hosted a celebration event at our Cavendish Campus in February. The event gave representatives from Santander Universities the chance to meet some of the students and alumni who have benefited from its funding.

Students who had participated in Westminster Working Cultures, the CEC’s Big Idea Competition and the SME Internship Programme spoke to Santander and senior Westminster staff about their experiences and how Santander’s support had made transformational changes to their educational experiences and their overall development.

The event was concluded by a ceremonial signing of a new gift

DONATED TO THE ANNUAL SME INTERNSHIP SCHEME

agreement, as Santander pledged to provide a further £184,500 to the University to aid the continuation of student programmes over the next three years.

“Today we are celebrating our brilliant students, and our generous, enlightened and innovative sponsor who for ten years has been helping many of our students travel internationally, with scholarships and financial support for their work,” said Dr Peter Bonfield, Vice-Chancellor and President, speaking at the event.

“We are celebrating Santander being a strong supporter of the types of things we stand for as a University. Today’s about celebrating success.”

Director of Santander Universities UK, Matt Hutnell, added: “We are delighted to support the University. We are helping students that have got ideas, but helping turn those ideas into reality, and from there we can help as a bank as well with our expertise in SME development.”

All the unspent funding from Santander’s donations this year has gone to the Santander Stay Connected Fund, which was established following the Coronavirus outbreak. In March this year, the University moved all teaching online and thanks to this fund, 100 students were provided with laptops allowing them to continue studying remotely.

Opposite: The University hosted a celebration event to commemorate ten years of support from Santander

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