Rolton Group - one of the UK’s leading engineering consultancies and design team partner in the £3.8billion Britishvolt development in Northumberland - has announced a new scholarship programme to support women from minority ethnic backgrounds interested in studying engineering.
The Rolton Group Undergraduate Engineering Scholarships are worth £6,000 per student and will be awarded to academically talented women from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds, so they can study one of Northumbria University’s engineering courses.
Each student will also have the opportunity to take part in a paid placement each summer, where they will be supervised and mentored by a Rolton Group manager. The placements will see students participate in live engineering projects, gaining invaluable experience that will enhance their career prospects when they graduate.
The scholarships come at an exciting time, as one of Rolton Group’s most prestigious projects breaks ground on a 230-acre site in Northumberland to house the UK’s first full-scale Gigaplant for electric vehicle battery manufacturing. The site is set to create 3,000 direct jobs, as well as attract 5,000 more through the supply chain.
Alongside the Britishvolt project, Rolton Group were recently appointed onto the Prosper Framework which serves the public sector in the North East and are also working on many other projects in the region. This, together with Chairman, Peter Rolton and Associate Director, Andrew Glancey’s own experience at Northumbria University inspired the creation of the scholarships.
Explaining the impact of Northumbria University on his career, Rolton Group Chairman, Peter Rolton says:
“My degree made me industry-ready. I was employable and I got straight into work - and for that I’m eternally grateful. Now I want to give back. I’ve been out in industry, learned lessons professionally, and I want to share those with the next generation coming through. Being able to bring people on-board, mentor them, bring them forward, is very rewarding. And it’s something we’re committed to doing.”
Rolton Group is one of many generous corporate supporters. Northumbria University’s corporate supporters have collectively donated £200,000 so far for scholarships, to pay forward the benefit of their Northumbria experience through the University’s Higher Education Without Barriers Fund. This campaign aims to support academically talented students into higher education, regardless of their social or economic circumstances.
With the North East being a newly established region for Rolton Group the company has strong ambitions and their commitment to the region is demonstrated by the establishment of a new regional branch, led by Associate Director, Andrew Glancey. Initially created to support the development of the Power by Britishvolt site in Northumberland, the intent is to establish a substantial multi-disciplinary consultancy business serving a wide sector base.
Andrew, who is responsible for supporting the MEP team on the Britishvolt Gigaplant while also further developing and establishing Rolton Group’s presence and client base in the region, said:
“Our partnership with Northumbria University gives opportunity to stimulate greater gender and ethnic diversity in our profession, and enables talented students to progress their education and work experience to become industry-ready upon graduating. In the current climate where engineering skills are highly sought after, it is fundamental that we support the next generation of engineers and the quality engineering courses in the region’s universities provides a fertile recruitment field upon which to grow the business.”
Scholarships like these are being funded with money raised by the University’s fundraising campaign, Higher Education Without Barriers.
Northumbria is partnering with alumni, businesses, and other supporters to provide a range of financial initiatives, mental health and wellbeing services, and community-based projects, to make participation and progression in higher education more achievable for academically talented students, regardless of their social or economic circumstances.
To find out how your business can get involved, contact James Wilkinson at: james.wilkinson@northumbria.ac.uk
Right: - Rolton Group Chairman, Peter Rolton Left: - Associate Director, Rolton Group, Andrew Glancey
