University of Northampton students benefit from £5.4m giveaway

Hundreds of students from the University of Northampton shared a pot of more than £5.4m in financial support during the 2015-16 academic year.

Grants and bursaries totalling £5,473,000 were paid out to 4,215 students, including those from lower-income backgrounds where families have a combined income of less than £25,000. Scholarships have also been awarded to high-performing students from the local region and overseas.

The financial awards available help support students through their course, allowing them to focus on their studies by reducing financial pressures and assisting with the cost of living, learning resources and accommodation.

Vice Chancellor, Professor Nick Petford, said: “We firmly believe income should not be a barrier to people who want to study at university, which is why we invest a substantial amount of money each year to support those who come from lower income backgrounds to achieve their dreams.

“We also support exceptionally talented students from our area and further away, to help them with the costs of studying at university, because if we didn’t, they simply wouldn’t be able to reach their full potential.”

In 2015-16, the University gifted £2.7m in bursaries to undergraduate students, £210,000 to postgraduate students and £671,000 in scholarships to overseas students.

Those on teaching courses received £809,000 to help cover the costs of off-campus school placements. Teacher training students also received a total of £514,000 which was funded by the National College for Teaching and Leadership. PhD students, meanwhile, received £492,000 – £250,000 of which was funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England.

Potential students can find out more about the grants, bursaries and scholarships available, and the eligibility criteria, by visiting the website.

“I was down and the money was like a hand to help me back up, to allow me to stand again”

Xhuljeta Stoli and her husband Andreas sought a new life in Northampton after the Greek government debt crisis put paid to their respective businesses.

In 2014, Xhuljeta was forced to close her data recovery company in her home city of Athens, while her spouse’s food production firm also went to the wall as the fallout from the economic crisis hit small business owners hard.

“It was heartbreaking,” said Xhuljeta, 38, pictured. “I ran my company for five years and to have to say goodbye to my employees was awful – they were more like family to me.

“We had no option but to look overseas for a new life, and due to having Greek friends in Northampton, we moved to the town in 2014.”

With two young boys to support, the couple took menial jobs straight away, often two at a time, and barely saw each other as they clocked off from one shift to another.

Xhuljeta finally found a data entry position with logistics firm DHL, and the stability of that job allowed her to consider studying for a degree, to help her career grow.

“I was hoping all of my experience would have counted in my favour when I was looking for more skilled jobs, but I was finding it hard to find the English words to explain technical problems,” she said.

“I decided to combine my work and family responsibilities with study, but knew it would be a struggle financially.”

After enrolling on the Software Engineering course at the University of Northampton, Xhuljeta applied for financial support, and was delighted to be selected for two bursaries totalling £1,000.

“Receiving the money was very important for me,” she said. “Given that my husband and I had a relatively low combined salary, it made a massive difference.

“I was down and the money was like a hand to help me back up, to allow me to stand again. I am so grateful that I have been keen to give something back, in my own way.”

As way of thanks, Xhuljeta became a volunteer STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) ambassador for the University, working with the school children that come onto campus for activities.

She has also been teaching coding to pupils at Delapre Primary School, as part of the University’s Code Club initiative.