By Filiz Emily Gurer, News Editor
The University of Bristol has announced plans for a new programme of scholarships which will support around 130 Black and mixed-Black heritage students over the next four years, totalling more than £1million.
The Bristol Black Scholarship Programme will seek to address the lack of representation of the Black heritage community at every level of study in higher education across the UK, from undergraduate students to those completing PhDs.
It will annually fund Black and mixed-Black heritage students across five areas.
One set of scholarships the programme will fund will be 20 Black Futures Scholarships to provide undergraduate students with both a bursary and targeted support from the Careers Service, alongside funding to support employability opportunities.
Bristol University has made progress in recent years, with an increase of 44 per cent in BAME student enrolment.
Speaking on the scholarship programme Professor Judith Squires, Provost and Deputy Vice Chancellor, said: ‘I am thrilled to be launching this new Bristol Black Scholarships Programme. We are determined to create a diverse and inclusive university community and recognise that positive support is needed to address the historical under representation of Black and Black-heritage students in particular.
‘Thanks to the support of our alumni and friends, I am confident that together with our other initiatives to support our Black-heritage students and to decolonise the curriculum, this will help to make our University a truly inclusive environment for everyone.’
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Hillary Gyebi-Ababio, former SU Undergraduate Education Officer at Bristol, and the current Vice President of the National Union of Students (NUS), said: ‘Financial concerns are one of the primary barriers to Black people progressing into Higher Education”.
‘The Black Bristol Scholarship Programme empowers students to continue their education and gives them the freedom to access resources and support they might not otherwise have.
‘The Black Bristol Scholarship goes a long way to showing the University of Bristol’s commitment to doing better by Black students. The moment you empower and enable students, you give them the agency and the ability to push for better, to bring change, to feel included and to feel valued in their communities.’
Featured Image: University of Bristol
Do you think the new scholarship is sufficient to support Bristol students of Black-heritage?
