University awarded grant to fund enterprise programme for BAME students

The University of Northampton has been awarded a grant of £70,000 as part of Santander Universities Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Fund.

The University will use the funding to offer an Enterprise Boost Accelerator programme, which aims to reduce the gap in the level of success between white and BAME (black, asian and minority ethnic) students on graduation.

The programme will seek to provide greater opportunities for BAME students by encouraging an entrepreneurial mindset and building their business skills during a two day course.

The university is one of 15 institutions across the UK to receive a grant from the fund, which was launched to celebrate Santander Universities’ 10th anniversary in the UK.

The project aims to reduce this gap by developing skills such as being business focused, creativity, resilience, problem solving and time management – all which will be easily transferred into the workplace.

Santander Universities Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Fund is a £1 million fund designed to support universities in delivering large-scale projects benefiting over 5,000 people directly and driving economic benefits across the UK.

The key objectives of the fund include helping to start, run or grow a business, developing and promoting entrepreneurial skills, culture and mindsets, championing innovation within businesses and delivering economic, social or employment benefits to the local and national economies.

Matt Hutnell, Director at Santander Universities, commented: “We are delighted to award this grant to the University of Northampton, which will support such a fantastic programme that teaches the skills needed to start a career or set up a new business and we look forward to hearing about the experiences of those who join the course.”

Professor Nick Petford, Vice-Chancellor at the University of Northampton, commented: “Our intensive two-day programme will teach the techniques and skills needed to make participants successful in the business world. Students will be able to test, explore and refine very early stage ideas and identify which markets certain products fit into. As a result, they will be able to transfer the skills they learn in the future when it comes to graduating and starting their career.”

Santander Universities was first created in Spain in 1996 by Emilio Botín, who recognised that universities play an important role in society. He believed that Santander should support these institutions through the provision of scholarships, mobility awards, entrepreneurship funding and much more.

Santander Universities now has over 1,200 university partners spanning across 20 countries. In 2007, Santander Universities was launched in the UK and now has partnerships with over 80 universities, providing over £10m of funding in 2017 to support university staff and students.

For more information on Santander Universities please visit the website.