Witty Scholarship - The University of Nottingham

About the Witty Entrepreneurial Scholarship

The Witty Entrepreneurial Scholarship has established an innovative programme of undergraduate scholarships for promising student entrepreneurs from lower income backgrounds.

The scholarship is a generous gift from Sir Andrew Witty, former Chancellor of the University of Nottingham, and his family. Sir Andrew graduated from the University of Nottingham in 1985 with a joint Honours BA in Economics and was the CEO of GlaxoSmithKline from 2008.

The programme has been supporting aspiring entrepreneurs at the University of Nottingham since 2017.

What does the scholarship include?

The Witty Scholarship offers financial support and entrepreneurial skills development for undergraduate students. Discovering innovative ideas, finding new ways of working, setting up a business, creating a distinctive career path or supporting social enterprises, all are ways Witty Scholars can get ahead of the pack. This programme is based in the Ingenuity Lab on Jubilee Campus.

Witty Scholars can access*:

a £500 cost of living allowance per academic year
up to £1,500 towards an internship or business start-up costs
an ‘Advantage’ Fund to support extra-curricular costs of up to £300 per year
funds to support Social Enterprise initiatives established during the Ingenuity Event or Global Ingenuity challenges
specific Witty Scholar membership to the Ingenuity Lab
one-to-one mentoring support for business or career development
resources and seminars to assist with growing your own business and developing your employability skills

*Advancement is subject to regular engagement with the programme.

Are you eligible?

An icon of a group of people with a lightbulb above their head

Demonstrate an interest in an entrepreneurial career

Household income of less than £35,000 as assessed by Student Finance

Commit to attending regular sessions focusing on entrepreneurship

Eligibility criteria explained

For this scheme you must meet the following criteria:

Be able to demonstrate an interest and commitment to an entrepreneurial career
Commit to attending regular mentoring meetings; sign up to entrepreneurship modules; attend seminars and events to support entrepreneurial education and employability
Have a 2022/23 Household Income of between £0-£35,000, as assessed by Student Finance
Be enrolled with at least two full years left of an undergraduate degree at the University of Nottingham (UK Campus)
Have Home funding status

More information, including definitions and explanations of the criteria, can be found in the application guidance.

How will the scholarship be paid?

Upon acceptance to the scheme, a Core Living Costs award of £500 will be paid directly to your bank account during term 2 and following your initial engagement with the programme. More details of payment arrangements will be confirmed to you at this time.

Further awards and/or payments will be subject to your individual circumstances and on satisfactory progression to the next year of the scheme.

How to apply

If you believe you are eligible for the Witty Entrepreneurial Scholarship based on the above criteria, we encourage you to fill out the online application.

Apply now.

Applications for this year's scholarship will close on 12 May 2023.

If you have missed the application deadline but are still interested in applying for the scholarship in the next academic year, you can begin to prepare your application using the guidance below.

Read the guidance