Santander Universities has launched its STEMships programme dedicated to supporting aspiring women engineers. 
 

02/08/2019 In 1969, a team of female engineers helped put Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong on the moon. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, Banco Santander has launched its STEMships programme dedicated to supporting female engineering students at universities across the country embark on a career in the engineering industry.

Thirty students will join the two-year STEMship support programme which offers a £1,500 Santander scholarship, as well as the dedicated tools, resources and opportunities needed to succeed in the industry post university. The 81 candidates will also be given membership to the Women's Engineering Society.

Nathan Bostock, Santander UK Country Head, and Jenson Button announced the first-ever STEMship beneficiaries. They were joined by engineers from Williams F1 and Aston Martin, Clare Sibley and Nikki Rimmington, in a discussion panel.

The event was part of the Formula Student Weekend 2019 at Silverstone, where the beneficiaries and other female students from universities in the Santander Universities partner network took part in a race with cars designed and built by the students.

The main barrier for female engineering students is the lack of women engineer role models: A recent report by the Women's Engineering Society revealed that just 12.3% of all engineers in the UK are female.

Matt Hutnell, Director of Santander Universities UK commented: "We’re thrilled to be launching our unique STEMships to support and inspire the next generation of women engineers from across the UK. We recognise the challenges facing female engineering students as they look to embark on careers in the industry. We hope the programme will support them with their career ambitions."