‘LIFE-changing’ opportunities have been opened up to engineering students at Rugby College after they received grants from one of the oldest women’s charities in the UK.
Futures for Women has awarded grants to 10 female students on the college’s engineering courses to support them with travel expenses, access to equipment and other resources.
The grant funding has been awarded to students from both the Engineering Level 3 Extended Diploma and BEng (Hons) General Engineering. The degree course saw its first graduates this academic year.
BEng (Hons) General Engineering student Courtney Farndon, 21, from Rugby, is one of the students to received a grant. She has studied from Level 3 through to Level 6 at Rugby College.
She said: “I would like to thank Futures for Women. The grant funding is a life-changing opportunity for me.
“I’m looking at computer aided design roles for when I graduate, or opportunities in the automotive industry, and a big part of that will be getting work experience in those areas.
“The grant money will be going towards funding a new car. My current car is really unreliable and actually broke down once on my way to a work placement. The new car will really help my job prospects.”
Futures for Women was established in 1859 by suffragist Jessie Boucherett to encourage women towards economic independence through employment. It works with colleges across the country to provide support for young women, helping them to thrive in their education.
The charity match-funded a £5,000 fund – created from a donation from Amazon and combined with other funds – to increase the pot to £10,000.
Rebecca Mills, Administrator at Futures for Women, said: “Our ethos is to support women’s choices and providing loans or grants is one way that we are able to do that.
“We’re pleased to be working with Rugby College to support these 10 students. We interviewed all applicants and were hugely impressed with all 10, and we were delighted to be able to award every applicant with a grant.
“We look forward to following their studies and wish them all the best as they pursue careers in engineering.”
Warwickshire College and University Centre (WCUC) is the higher education arm of WCG, the group which runs Rugby College.
Gary Elson, Subject Leader for HE Engineering at WCUC, said: “The students will be using the grants for a wide range of purposes, with some purchasing new laptops, some putting it towards travel expenses and others seeking to buy their own textbooks and other equipment.
“For 10 students to be able to benefit is excellent, and the grant funding will be a huge support for them during their studies.”
