Santander tapping into Essex talent

Our students spoke about the fantastic internship opportunities at Essex at a special event which brought together more than 50 businesses from across the region to celebrate our partnership with Santander Universities and to discover the benefits of working with the University. 

The special networking and showcase event was hosted by Santander and held at Wivenhoe House. It included talks from students who have benefited from internships supported by Santander alongside the organisations where they worked.

There were also talks on the University’s expansion plans and real life examples of successful business collaborations.

Our partnership with Santander Universities

Santander Universities was created in 1996 as a means to bring together the bank's corporate social responsibility activities in support of higher education and Essex was one of the first UK universities to join the network in 2007.

Santander Universities works closely with the Employer Services team within the University’s Employability and Careers Centre. This helps support a range of scholarships and internship opportunities for Essex students.

Ambitious plans for the future

The event included opportunities for businesses to network and find out about the range of funding and support options available at the University.

Our Registrar Bryn Morris opened the evening with an overview of the University’s ambitious future vision, noting our plans for expansion on the Knowledge Gateway and our recent employment of 44 new academic members of staff thanks to increased applications.

Successful internships making a difference

Trusts and Corporate Manager at mental health charity SANE Dr Ben Barnard and Managing Director of Innovative Creations James Brand led talks on how Santander Interns have benefitted their business. They also introduced successful Santander Interns Chloe Hedman and Oyinpreye Onita.

Communications and digital culture student Chloe is a Fundraising Assistant Intern at SANE and advanced web engineering Masters student Oyinpreye is a Junior Software Developer Intern at Innovative Creations. They both shared their experience of success and outstanding achievement through the internship programme and thanked the University for the opportunity.

Dr Singh concluded the evening by covering the alternative university support available for businesses. Highlighting our strength in Knowledge Transfer Partnerships and the exciting opportunities available for businesses on our Knowledge Gateway, the university’s research and technology park.