Encouraging engineering excellence

Undergraduates in Imperial College’s Faculty of Engineering are to benefit from a new and prestigious scholarship scheme thanks to a generous donation from The Vodafone Group Foundation.

Imperial’s individual engineering departments will each nominate two undergraduates (one UK and one overseas) on the basis of outstanding academic merit. A committee comprising admissions tutors, senior academics and a Vodafone representative will then convene to select the winners of the Vodafone Group Foundation Technology Scholarships.

The scholars will join the College in September 2008 and both tuition fees and maintenance will be funded for the entirety of their undergraduate studies.

In collaboration with the College’s EnVision initiative, the scholarships are not only aimed at rewarding excellence, but also at levelling the playing field for engineering study at Imperial by enabling the most talented undergraduates to attend the College regardless of means. EnVision is a project that seeks to ensure that every engineering student at Imperial College is offered the best possible education. It aims to guarantee that every Imperial graduate will be armed with the knowledge, skills and aptitude required to become world class leaders in every sphere of engineering.

“One of the Faculty’s key ambitions is to build on our previous success of encouraging and supporting more students in engineering,” explained Professor John Wood, Principal of the Faculty of Engineering.

Imperial College and the Vodafone Group Foundation share a common ambition to contribute to the global engineering talent pool for future employment and to stimulate innovation. Through the establishment of the Vodafone Group Foundation Technology Scholarships, the foundation is making a real and tangible contribution to the engineering talent pool, which will ultimately benefit the engineering sector as a whole.

The Vodafone Group Foundation has invested over £115 million in projects since its creation in 2002, concentrating on disaster relief, helping disadvantaged young people via sport and music initiatives, and specific projects through its 24 local Foundations worldwide.

“We are delighted to be working with Imperial College on this initiative,” said Andrew Dunnett, Director, The Vodafone Group Foundation. “The Vodafone Group Foundation is committed to investing in the cultivation of the next generation of engineers and maximising the future scientific potential of the UK. It is imperative that institutions such as Imperial College continue to attract and reward talented students into the engineering sector, and the Vodafone Group Foundation Scholarships are a great way of doing that, alongside rewarding the excellence of engineering students.”