Tech business funds new scholarships at Northumbria

Students looking for high value careers in computing are being offered funding support for post graduate study following a partnership between Northumbria University and Version 1.

As one of the leading lights in the UK computing and software sector, Version1 is expanding rapidly and is looking to support future talent with the creation of 15 scholarships in Computing Science. The financial support will be match-funded by Northumbria. Students will benefit from funding towards the cost of study at Northumbria’s award-winning £7 million Computer and Information Sciences (CIS) building. They will also receive direct input from Version 1, including mentoring and involvement in real-life industry projects to help them embed their applied learning into professional practice.

Version 1 has recently received a £1 million investment from the North of Tyne Combined Authority and is looking to recruit over 200 skilled employers to its Newcastle offices as it establishes a firm footprint in the city. Northumbria is a leading education provider for CIS courses and is a founder member of the £40m Institute of Coding, which it aims to give the UK an edge in the global digital economy. The University’s CIS building was opened in 2018 and combines both research and specialist teaching spaces. In 2020 it won the Lord Mayor DesignAwards for the exceptional contribution it makes to Newcastle.  

Uzma Ahmed, Early Careers Manager at Version 1, said: “Newcastle has one of the fastest-growing tech clusters in the UK and Version 1 is one of the fastest-growing employers in Europe. Newcastle is a modern city investing in the future and Version 1 is a modern employer investing in Newcastle. We’re excited to become a part of this vibrant city’s scene through our partnership with Northumbria University, which has a strong reputation for producing industry-ready Computing Science graduates.”

Professor Martyn Amos, Acting Head of Computer and Information Sciences at Northumbria, added: “We’re thrilled to be partnering with Version 1 on this new initiative and we are grateful for their support. Our courses in Computer Information Sciences provide much-needed talent to the flourishing local tech sector, and we are delighted to have teamed up with such an ambitious and innovative company. The investment from Version 1 is an endorsement of the quality of our taught programmes and our graduates, and we look forward to working with them to further grow the region’s digital skills base.”

The funding package from Version 1 will also support Northumbria’s Higher Education Without Barriers Fund. The fund provides a range of support, including financial initiatives, to make participation and progression in higher education more achievable for academically talented students, regardless of their social or economic circumstances.

James Wilkinson, Development Executive at Northumbria, added: “We are excited to welcome Version 1 as a new corporate supporter to Northumbria.  Initially supporting the employability prospects of our students through scholarships, we look forward to developing the partnership further, in the future.”

For more information on the Version 1 Scholarship and to apply please click here.