Photo opportunity: 2pm, Friday 12 December, Training Complex, First floor, Tower Building, University of Dundee.
Fifteen University of Dundee 1st year students will receive awards for £1000 - part of a £4000 package of support over four years - from The Royal Bank of Scotland at a ceremony on Friday 12 December.
Every year since 2001, The Royal Bank of Scotland has provided up to 75 bursaries - each worth a total of £4000 - to support full-time first year undergraduate students at the Universities of Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow and St. Andrews.
The RBS Access Bursary scheme entitles 15 students at the University of Dundee to £1000 per year each year of their four year course. The Bursaries are awarded to those students who have an established financial need, or other adverse personal circumstances that make progression through university difficult.
The Dundee students will be presented with cheques by Janice Palmer, Branch Manager of the Royal Bank Chief Office in Dundee, and congratulated by Vice-Principal Professor James Calderhead.
Professor Calderhead said, "Universities offer a life changing experience for their students, challenging them intellectually and preparing them for a future career that would otherwise be unobtainable. Many students are in a position to benefit from this experience."
Unfortunately, more and more of the costs of higher education are falling upon the students themselves, and although many work to finance their studies, a good number still encounter financial difficulties and sometimes have to suspend or abandon their studies altogether.
Bursary schemes such as the Royal Bank's play a vital role in enabling students who would otherwise encounter financial hardship to continue with their studies and benefit fully from a university education. The RBS is to be congratulated on its foresight and generosity in promoting this initiative, which benefits the individuals involved and also contributes well-educated human resources to the Scottish economy.
Donna Murphy, a third year law student who has benefited from the scheme, said, "The Royal Bank Bursary has helped me enormously during my time at university. I am now in my third year studying for my LLB in Scots Law. f it had not been for the bursary fund, my progression through university would have probably been impossible."
The Bursary has enabled Donna to purchase a computer, meaning she can work at her home in Fife and save travelling expenses. She has also been able to purchase books and reduce the number of hours she has to work in paid employment.
A 39-month evaluation programme began in May 2002 to determine how beneficial the programme has been. The findings suggest that the bursary is extremely beneficial to students in a variety of ways.
Most notably, it has helped to reduce the number of hours that recipients estimated they would have to work per week in the absence of a bursary. Recipients were able to work an average of six hours less than expected, giving them more time to concentrate on their academic studies.
By Esther Black, Press Officer 01382 344768, out of hours: 07968298585, e.z.black@dundee.ac.uk