Monday, 19 December 2022
A new scholarship scheme is to offer four University of Nottingham students, who are leaving care or are estranged from their families, assistance with their accommodation costs.
Thanks to funding offered by the Unite Foundation, the university will be offering the scholarships to students from these backgrounds who are applying for their first year undergraduate study to start in the academic year 2023/24.
The scholarship covers accommodation and bills for 365 days a year for up to three years of study.
I am very grateful to the Unite Foundation for this award of four 52-week accommodation scholarships. These will be targeted at our care leaver and estranged students.
She added: “I had the privilege of meeting some of these students in the summer. Their stories confirmed to me just how important it is that we offer them secure homes at university and enable them to have a full student experience. These four scholarships will significantly contribute to this. Thank you Unite Foundation!”
Vikki Welch, Associate Director for Student Living, added: “I am delighted we have successfully agreed this new partnership with The Unite Foundation to support our care leavers and estranged students as part of our commitment to university widening access and participation. We look forward to working closely with Unite Foundation for the duration of the partnership and seeing our students flourish.”
Access to the university experience
Nottingham is one of four new universities – alongside Oxford Brookes, University of East Anglia and Northumbria University – to be selected to take part in the new Home at University: Widening Access and Participation Pilot programme, which is match funded between the successful partner universities, the Unite Foundation and Astra Foundation and the Dulverton Trust.
Unite Foundation Director Fiona Ellison said: “We’re delighted to be welcoming four new partner universities into The Unite Foundation family. The ‘Home at University: Widening Access & Participation Pilot’ will enable us to offer up to 17 new scholarships across four additional higher education providers. This means 17 care leavers or estranged students will have more choice when applying for a Unite Foundation scholarship and be able to take advantage of everything university has to offer.
“The University of Nottingham demonstrated a clear commitment to doing more to support care experienced and estranged students as they continue to grow and develop their institutional-wide holistic approach. As a Russell Group university, we hope this scholarship pilot will shine a spotlight on what more Russell Group institutions should be doing to support this group of students.”
The pilot scheme will open for applications on The Unite Foundation website from January 1 2023 and is open to all care leaver or estranged students applying to first year undergraduate courses starting in the academic year 23/24.
The Unite Foundation is an independent registered charity offering unique accommodation scholarships for care leavers and estranged young people at universities across the UK.
Students can email the foundation directly at info@unitefoundation.org.uk or contact the Accommodation team: https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/accommodation/contact.aspx
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About the Unite Foundation
The Unite Foundation scholarship takes care of students’ accommodation and bills, covering up to three full years of study for 365 days a year. Our aim is that with a stable home taken care of, Unite Foundation students feel able to access and experience everything that university has to offer.
The charity currently works with 26 universities across England and Scotland, and the team works closely with Unite Students: the charity’s accommodation partner and principal corporate donor. It also receives funding from The Astra Foundation, The Dulverton Trust and The Portal Trust.
Founded in 2012, the Unite Foundation is currently celebrating its 10th Anniversary. To date, the Unite Foundation has awarded 614 scholarships, with 285 graduates now pursuing their dreams.
For more information about the Unite Foundation and the scholarship visit https://thisisusatuni.org/unite-foundation.
Notes to editors:
About the University of Nottingham
Ranked 32 in Europe and 16th in the UK by the QS World University Rankings: Europe 2024, the University of Nottingham is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities. Studying at the University of Nottingham is a life-changing experience, and we pride ourselves on unlocking the potential of our students. We have a pioneering spirit, expressed in the vision of our founder Sir Jesse Boot, which has seen us lead the way in establishing campuses in China and Malaysia - part of a globally connected network of education, research and industrial engagement.
Nottingham was crowned Sports University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024 – the third time it has been given the honour since 2018 – and by the Daily Mail University Guide 2024.
The university is among the best universities in the UK for the strength of our research, positioned seventh for research power in the UK according to REF 2021. The birthplace of discoveries such as MRI and ibuprofen, our innovations transform lives and tackle global problems such as sustainable food supplies, ending modern slavery, developing greener transport, and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
The university is a major employer and industry partner - locally and globally - and our graduates are the second most targeted by the UK's top employers, according to The Graduate Market in 2022 report by High Fliers Research.
We lead the Universities for Nottingham initiative, in partnership with Nottingham Trent University, a pioneering collaboration between the city’s two world-class institutions to improve levels of prosperity, opportunity, sustainability, health and wellbeing for residents in the city and region we are proud to call home.
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