Learning Connected Partnership Programme
In 2024 we were delighted to rekindle a connection with a previous beneficiary, Farida Danmeri, who over 10 years earlier, received an interest free loan to pursue her academic goals. Now CEO and Founder of Learning Connected, she develops a host of ideas and pathways to offer remote work opportunities for students to enhance their employability skills. Learning Connected works with companies, educational institutions, governments and charities to develop capacity for change.
In partnership with SOAS University, Learning Connected and Futures for Women embarked on a social impact project for 4 students to collaborate with host organisations to ensure their projects were responsive to local needs. Essentially a critical research topic, leading to selected fellows offering feedback and a presentation to senior leaders to explain their findings. With support, the aim of the partnership was to empower students to be innovative, offering community-driven solutions that foster lasting change. Host organisations were selected to help interns enhance their employability skills while making a positive contribution to their organisations.
This was a 10 week programme for BME, female, undergraduate and early-career individuals. Culminating in a £500 grant award to boost the academic success of each learner. We are extremely proud of the 4 aspiring individuals for their response to this opportunity and the learning they acquired during the programme. Here is a snapshot of their feedback:
Below is a link to an article written by Hannah about her social impact fellowship and research for CET:
Rugby College Grant Scheme
It’s important for us to support women in industries where they are underrepresented and in 2023/24 we had an opportunity to deliver a grant scheme for Engineering students at Rugby College. In January 2024 10 learners were awarded grants to help support them in their studies.
The grant fund for students at Rugby College, which is part of WCG (Warwickshire College Group), was created from a small fund provided by Amazon and combined with other donations. We then match-funded the amount to increase the pot to £10,000.
The grant funding was to support students with travel expenses, access to equipment and other resources. It was awarded to students from both the Engineering Level 3 Extended Diploma and BEng (Hons) General Engineering. The degree course at Rugby College saw its first graduates in 2024!
Courtney Farndon, 21 from Rugby, is studying BEng (Hons) General Engineering and is one of the students to received a grant. She has studied from Level 3 through to Level 6 at Rugby College.
She said:
“I would like to thank Futures for Women for this opportunity and the grant funding is a life changing opportunity for me. I’m looking at computer aided design roles for when I graduated, or opportunities in the automotive industry, and a big part of that will be getting work experience in those areas. The grant money will be going towards funding a new car. My current car is really unreliable and actually broke down once on my way to a work placement! The new car will really help my job prospects.”
Of the scheme, our Administrator, Rebecca Mills, said:
“Our ethos is to support women’s choices and providing loans or grants is one way that we are able to do that. We’re pleased to have worked with Rugby College to support these 10 students. We interviewed all applicants and were hugely impressed with all 10, and we were delighted to be able to award every applicant with a grant. We look forward to following their studies and wish them all the best as they pursue careers in engineering.”
Gary Elson, Subject Leader for HE Engineering at WCG, said:
“This is fantastic for our students and we would like to thank Futures for Women for their support. The students will be using the grants for a wide range of purposes, with some purchasing new laptops, some putting it towards travel expenses and others seeking to buy their own textbooks and other equipment. For 10 students to be able to benefit is excellent, and the grant funding will be a huge support for them during their studies.”
Below is a link to the Press Release published by Warwickshire World in February 2024.
Funding boost for ten female engineering students in Rugby (warwickshireworld.com)