Universities

How Bursaries help students 

Over the years research has shown that bursaries have far reaching benefits for students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

  • They allow students to buy essential equipment such as laptops, books, and travel passes.
  • They allow students to join societies, sports clubs, field trips and opportunities to study abroad.
  • They take pressure off students to look for part time jobs or work extra hours to make ends meet. By having to work less and spend more time on campus with fellow students many of our winners have reported back on how this has allowed them to develop personally.
  • They allow students to spend more time with like-minded people.

Why sponsor a Helena Kennedy Foundation Bursary ?

For many students, receiving a bursary is like being thrown a lifeline – Along with financial support, the Foundation also provides ongoing personal advice and support throughout the duration of their studies and beyond. This support and guidance help students stay focused and achieve their aspirations.

The Foundation supports students in many different ways, including:

  • Maintaining regular contact with students, being a ‘shoulder to cry on’ and celebrating students’ achievements
  • Working with students to enable them to find solutions to financial problems
  • Signposting students to expert organisations for support in overcoming specific difficulties
  • Acting as a personal referee to students entering university and liaising on behalf of students with colleges, universities and external agencies
  • Connecting students with other HKF award winners
  • Providing access to a closed Facebook group and LinkedIn group with other winners via social media
  • Providing students with opportunities for training, work shadowing and voluntary work to develop transferable skills

How your university can benefit from becoming a sponsor

We have worked with universities since the charity was established in 1998. In particular, we work with partnerships and widening participation departments. There are several advantages to working with the charity

  • Enrich your university community as we work with the hardest to reach students

  • Work with a charity that has a high success rate of students completing their degrees
  • Improve your student access and participation plan
  • Save time – we manage all aspects of the application process so there is no burden on your resources         
  • Receive help with awarding your own bursaries – we can help you target colleges across the UK
  • Receive annual progress reports of how the bursary winner is doing

If you would like to work with us and sponsor our bursaries which would be linked to your institution please contact Shahida Aslam, who manages all aspects of the bursary scheme.   

What our winners say

“I would like to say a big thank you to the Foundation for all the support, ranging from the emails, phone calls and the money at the start of the year. This made it easier for me to get things like books, online studying subscriptions as well as supporting rent and savings by the end of the year. I recently got my results and I performed really well during my exams, especially for the clinical skills tests. This is something I enjoy practicing the most. I have learnt a lot during this year from my studies, from being a university ambassador and representing societies such as “Friends of Doctors Without Borders”. I look forward to my second year in September, especially with the support from HKF Foundation” (Medical student)

Abdou Jouma, 2018 Winner