Students from disadvantaged educational backgrounds will be among those to benefit from a new partnership between Abertay University and Santander.
The initiative is aimed at supporting student entrepreneurship as well as academic and industrial placements.
Abertay became the latest institution to join the Santander universities network, adding to a list of more than 80 UK universities and hundreds more around the world.
Principal and vice-chancellor of Abertay University, Professor Nigel Seaton said: “I’m delighted that we are joining the Santander universities network, a fantastic initiative which will make a real difference to our students.
“We thank Santander for its commitment to the university and look forward to working together.”
As part of the new partnership, Abertay will set up the Santander Opportunities Fund, offering funding for work placements, conference travel and visits to partner universities for students who have had a difficult start in life.
The agreement will also fund an external professional speakers programme open to all students, including help with knowledge and skills enhancement in areas such as pitching, business planning, product development and pricing.
Experts from the business community, including those from Santander, will be invited to Abertay for round table discussions and workshops with entrepreneurial students.
There will be support for students entering enterprise competitions, assistance with the incubation of early stage businesses and an appointed Student Enterprise Manager to offer help and guidance.
Matt Hutnell, Director, Santander Universities UK, said: “We are committed to working with higher education institutions and through this new partnership we will be able to collaborate to help both students and staff at Abertay University.”
Santander Universities was launched by Santander in 1997 with the primary aim for universities to share goals of internationalisation, transfer of knowledge and fostering of entrepreneurial skills.
This new agreement marks the 84th partnership for Santander Universities in the UK.
The Bank has established partnerships with over 1,200 universities in 20 countries.
