Turing Grants - ThinkPacific (Fiji)

Students who are successful in the below outlined process will be eligible to receive a grant amount of up to £2,170 to contribute towards the cost of the experience. The experience will be provided by our partner ThinkPacific who have a strong track record of providing experiences to University of Nottingham students.

Volunteering experiences through this scheme can focus on a range of different areas including, but not limited to; community development, youth empowerment, youth mental health, sports development and community building projects.

**The grant amount will not fully cover the cost of the experience. Successful students will be expected to self-fund any amounts not provided by the grant. Fundraising support will be provided by ThinkPacific to students who are successful in being awarded a grant via this scheme.

**Depending on the cost of flights and other ‘incidentals’ e.g. travel insurance, travel within the UK to airports, vaccinations (where these are not free), the overall cost of the experience will be approximately £3,700. £2,145 of this total amount is the project fee of ThinkPacific which covers all costs of activity in Fiji i.e. accommodation, meals, activities, in-country travel.

**If you are not eligible to apply to this grant students can still apply to ThinkPacific directly, please attend the information session or visit their website for further details.

Details about the scheme and how it works can be found in the Turing Grant information booklet

In order to be eligible to receive a grant students must come from a disadvantaged background as defined by the Turing Scheme. In order to apply students must meet one or more of the criteria below:

• Students with an annual household income of £25,000** or less
• Students receiving Universal Credit or income related benefits because they are financially supporting themselves or financially supporting themselves and someone who is dependant and living with them, such as a child or partner
• Students who are care leavers and students who are care experience. This refers to anyone who has been or is currently in care or from a looked after background at any stage in their life, no matter how short, including adopted children who were previously looked after or those who access the Care Experience Bursary in Scotland.
• Students who have caring responsibilities. A registered carer who has commitment to providing unpaid care to a family member or friend who could not cope without their support.
• Students who are estranged. Those who are irreconcilably estranged from their parent(s). To be considered irreconcilably estranged, the student won’t have had any written or verbal contact with either parent – usually for 12 months or more – and this is unlikely to change.
• Students who are refugees and/or asylum seekers

** “A student with a household income assessed by Student Finance as being £25,000 or less will typically receive the maximum maintenance loan from the Student Loans Company. In 2022-23 the maximum maintenance loan for students living away from the parental home while studying is £9,706. For students living in the parental home it is £8,171”.

**You are not eligible to apply for this grant if you have received funding through the Turing scheme in the past. In addition if you have undertaken an in-country experience with ThinkPacific in the past you are not eligible to apply.

If you have queries about eligibility please email internships@nottingham.ac.uk and we will be happy to help.

Step 1

Complete an initial expression of interest and confirm you meet eligibility criteria using this form.

Step 2

After Thursday 24 November the university will make internal checks to ensure you meet the eligibility criteria you have selected.

Step 3

After Monday 28 November and once we have confirmed your eligibility we will pass your email contact details and telephone number to ThinkPacific. By completing step one you consent to your information being passed to ThinkPacific in order to progress through this process.

Step 4

ThinkPacific will contact you to invite you to an information session/webinar. This is a mandatory element of the assessment process. If for any reason you are unable to attend this you will have access to a recorded version of the session. This will take place week commencing Monday 5 December.

Step 5

After this session/webinar, assuming you still wish to continue you will enter in to a competitive interview process managed by ThinkPacific – this will take place between Wednesday 7 December and Friday 13 January. Students who perform most strongly at interview stage and who best meet ThinkPacific recruitment and selection criteria will be successful in receiving an offer of a Turing Grant. You will be informed if you are successful or unsuccessful as early as possible in January 2023.

A process will then start for students to book a place on an experience of their choosing with ThinkPacific and guidance will be provided around booking flights and all other aspects of the trip.