Tuesday, 30 March 2021
A large cohort of students at the University of Nottingham has been accepted onto a new programme run by the global bank Santander to boost diversity in the financial sector.
87 black and black mixed ethnicity students and recent graduates will be among the first to take part in the Santander Universities Black Inclusion Programme – the latest in a range of initiatives to increase access to finance careers in which people of colour are under-represented.
The group are among 3,000 university students and graduates in the UK to win places on the scheme. It will give them access to specially tailored online training, professional development and employability skills to help build their CV.
The course is being run in partnership with leading finance industry specialists, Finance Unlocked. It also focuses on the fundamentals of finance and covers topical subjects including Green Finance and Blockchain.
After completing the eight-hour online programme and quizzes, 30 of the top-performing students and graduates will also be in with a chance of receiving a £1,500 Santander Scholarship.
The initiative has been promoted to students and new graduates as part of the university’s growing portfolio of EDI activity for students and staff.
Francesse Tornyie Larbie
Francesse Tornyie-Larbie, 1st year Medicinal and Biological Chemistry student, said: “I was elated to receive the email confirming my place on the Santander Universities Black Inclusion Programme. It is a chance for me to make my understanding of finance more comprehensive especially considering my past experience with A-Level Business. The finance sector is a viable field for a graduate in chemistry to advance in, so I am hopeful that this course will give me a slight edge in my graduate career.”
Charlotte Appiah, student.
Charlotte Appiah, 2nd year MMath Mathematics student, said: “I applied to the Santander Universities Black Inclusion Programme so I could have access to Finance Unlocked platform. It’s giving me the chance to expand my financial knowledge ahead of my spring week at Goldman Sachs this Easter, and this hopefully will give me an advantage when applying to Summer Internships later this year, as I’ll have a better understanding of the finance industry and more insight into the daily workings of the various divisions.”
Matt Hutnell, Director at Santander Universities, said: “Over the last decade Santander Universities has collaborated with its network of university partners to ensure students from diverse backgrounds are supported into university, work and self-employment. The new programme aims to provide students and recent graduates from communities under-represented in the financial services sector with further professional development as they prepare for and embark on their future careers.”
Pro-Vice-Chancellor for EDI, Professor Sarah Sharples
Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, at the University of Nottingham, Professor Sarah Sharples, said: “I am very pleased to see such strong participation from our Black and Minority Ethnic students in this Santander programme. As part of our recent Race Equality Charter submission we identified the importance of targetted opportunities such as these as part of collective activity to eliminate the degree awarding gap. I wish the participants on the programme every success.”
Pauline Maden, Associate Director for Faculty Engagement in the Careers and Employability Service and EDI Lead said: "I am delighted that we have been able to build on the Careers and Employability Service's long-standing partnership with Santander to facilitate targeted work experience opportunities for black students studying at the University of Nottingham. In these challenging times it is more important than ever that we continue our collaborative work with students and employers to proactively understand, recognise and reduce the perceived barriers students may feel when taking steps to develop their career.”
The Santander Universities Black Inclusion programme is part of the bank’s wider Black Inclusion Plan launched last year as part of its commitment to being an inclusive and diverse organisation. The plan focuses on three key areas: Leadership, Allyship and Networks, which all shape the bank’s ongoing activity in creating a culture that champions everyday inclusion and drives positive change.
The Finance Unlocked course is now open for students to complete until the 9 May 2021. The 30 successful applicants that will receive a £1,500 Santander Scholarship will be announced on 17 May 2021.
Santander UK has also launched a new internal leadership talent development programme - Accelerating You: Black Talent Programme. The nine-month programme is aimed at high potential colleagues who are looking to progress into senior positions.
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For more information, please contact the University's Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity team via email edi@nottingham.ac.uk or Emma Rayner, Media Relations Manager on 0115 951 5793 or emma.rayner@nottingham.ac.uk
Notes to editors:
About the University of Nottingham
Ranked 32 in Europe and 16th in the UK by the QS World University Rankings: Europe 2024, the University of Nottingham is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities. Studying at the University of Nottingham is a life-changing experience, and we pride ourselves on unlocking the potential of our students. We have a pioneering spirit, expressed in the vision of our founder Sir Jesse Boot, which has seen us lead the way in establishing campuses in China and Malaysia - part of a globally connected network of education, research and industrial engagement.
Nottingham was crowned Sports University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024 – the third time it has been given the honour since 2018 – and by the Daily Mail University Guide 2024.
The university is among the best universities in the UK for the strength of our research, positioned seventh for research power in the UK according to REF 2021. The birthplace of discoveries such as MRI and ibuprofen, our innovations transform lives and tackle global problems such as sustainable food supplies, ending modern slavery, developing greener transport, and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
The university is a major employer and industry partner - locally and globally - and our graduates are the second most targeted by the UK's top employers, according to The Graduate Market in 2022 report by High Fliers Research.
We lead the Universities for Nottingham initiative, in partnership with Nottingham Trent University, a pioneering collaboration between the city’s two world-class institutions to improve levels of prosperity, opportunity, sustainability, health and wellbeing for residents in the city and region we are proud to call home.
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