Decade long partnership with Santander has social mobility at its core

Northumbria has renewed its partnership with Santander Universities in a move designed to offer even greater life-changing opportunities for students from all backgrounds.

The new agreement runs to 2028 and represents a 10-year-long partnership with Santander with financial support totalling more than £1.3 million. This has included the funding of more than 300 internships with regional businesses, 60 mobility scholarships to help disadvantaged students, enterprise weekends for entrepreneurial students, overseas study and a range of other scholarships. Santander also donated £100,000 to Northumbria’s incubator hub opened in 2019 to help graduate start-ups establish and build their businesses.

Over the next three years Santander will continue to support Northumbria students through education scholarships, support for entrepreneurship, and mobility, for example, through overseas study opportunities. The bank will also provide continued funding for the Brighter Futures Grants campaign which provided 20 students with a £1,000 grant in 2023/24 to support them with their study and living costs.

Professor Andy Long, Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of Northumbria said: “We are delighted and proud to extend our agreement with Santander Universities UK and further strengthen a decade-long partnership which enhances the learning experience and life chances for so many of our students – especially those from less advantaged backgrounds. Having a clear social mobility mission is a key part of Northumbria’s strategy, sitting alongside a focus on quality research and playing a major role in the success of the regional economy. Santander’s ongoing support contributes enormously to these aims and I look forward to developing the relationship even further in the years to come.”

One undergraduate student to benefit from Santander’s support is James Chan, who has received a £30,000 scholarship to study a five-year extended computer science with games development degree. Currently enjoying a study-abroad programme with semesters in both the USA and Germany, James said: “I am really enjoying my time at Northumbria and the study abroad opportunities and just want to say a huge thank you to Santander for the funds, which have been a massive help.  The scholarship has helped me in many ways, especially with maintenance and accommodation costs. The opportunity to study, to travel, and meet new people has really taken me out of my comfort zone and is helping me develop as a young person. None of this would have been possible without the support of Northumbria and Santander and I am extremely grateful.”

Northumbria’s partnership renewal with Santander will provide a further £150,000over the next three years and opens fresh opportunities for Northumbria’s students and business partners. It also means the University can work with more SMEs and start-ups in the region through initiatives such as paid student internships. 

Santander’s funding will also provide a significant boost to Northumbria’s Higher Education Without Barriers campaign to help ensure anyone with the potential to go to university has the opportunity to do so.

Matt Hutnell, Director at Santander Universities UK, commented:  “At Santander we are committed to supporting education, employability and entrepreneurship. We’re proud to continue our partnership with Northumbria University and provide even more opportunities for students, staff and the local community to develop skills to help them achieve their full potential.”

Santander has a long-standing history of supporting the higher education sector, with a focus on education, employability and entrepreneurship. Over the past 26 years the bank has provided over €2.2 billion in funding globally and supported over one million people.