A scholarship programme has been launched at a North East university to help women from minority ethnic backgrounds into engineering careers.
Leading engineering consultancy Rolton Group – which is involved in Britishvolt’s gigaplant factory in Blyth – is funding the programme at Northumbria University in moves to support women interested in studying engineering.
The Rolton Group Undergraduate Engineering Scholarships, which will start in September, are worth £6,000 each and will be awarded to academically gifted black, asian and minority ethnic women to study on one of Northumbria’s engineering courses.
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The scholarships will help pay for living costs associated with study and to enhance the overall learning experience.
Each student will have the opportunity to take part in paid placement-project work each summer. Supervised and mentored by a Rolton Group manager, the placement work will assign each student to live engineering projects where they can gain valuable experience to help boost their career prospects following graduation.
Peter Rolton, chairman of Rolton Group and executive chairman of Britishvolt, said: “Our scholarship partnership with Northumbria is an excellent opportunity for talented students from underrepresented groups to fulfil their ambitions to go to university and become engineers.
“At the same time it will help businesses and organisations, like Rolton Group, recruit talented graduates ready to tackle challenges such as the application of renewable technologies and carbon reduction. Encouraging greater gender and ethnic diversity in our profession is an important part of this.”
Paul Housego, director of Rolton Group responsible for training and development, said: “The opportunity to support students, the next generation of engineers, through funding, work placement and mentorship is a pleasure and an honour.
“We recognise the power and importance of diversity in the workplace and we’re proud to provide the Rolton Group Engineering Scholarships from September 2022. With work underway to establish a North East office location for Rolton Group, it’s great to continue working in partnership with the forward-thinking team at Northumbria University.”
Prof George Marston, pro vice-chancellor for strategic projects at Northumbria, added: “The university is already working closely with the highly respected Rolton Group through major projects we are both involved in such as Britishvolt’s £3.8bn ‘gigaplant’ factory, which is being developed in Northumberland to manufacture electric vehicle batteries.
“These new scholarships from Rolton Group strengthen our partnership even further and will offer new opportunities for aspiring students, while helping to diversify the future engineering workforce.
“I am also looking forward to welcoming Peter Rolton to our campus on March 9. As the recently appointed executive chairman of Britishvolt he will deliver a public lecture on the company’s decision to build its factory here in the North East, and the benefits this will bring both to the region and to the future of electric vehicle technology in the UK.
“An alumnus of Northumbria, Peter will also meet and speak with some of our current engineering students and to our academics involved in renewable energy research during his visit. I am sure his insights will be greatly appreciated.”
Rolton Group’s scholarship funding complements 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.
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