This initiative will enhance the chances of undergraduates and young professionals in the job market against a backdrop of growing unemployment, especially among people, and accelerated job market transformation because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The scholarships offer specialised training in digital and leadership skills, languages and other key areas for today's job market. 

They are being launched through agreements with leading education institutions in the development of the most sought-after professional skills: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), London School of Economics (LSE), University of Pennsylvania (UPenn), IE University and ESADE. 

Applications will be accepted at www.becas-santander.com 
 

Madrid, 9 September 2020 – PRESS RELEASE
Banco Santander has launched the Santander #InvestInYou Scholarships. Through Santander Universities, it will implement five fully online, global scholarship programmes for more than 1,500 undergraduates and young professionals, with a view to supplying them with solutions and tools to help them improve their job prospects. 

These scholarships aim to increase their chances in the labour market against a backdrop of growing unemployment among young people and accelerated job market transformation because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Javier Roglá, global head of Santander Universities, stressed that "the COVID-19 pandemic has led to an acceleration of the job market's transformation, which is demanding increasingly more cross-cutting and digital skills and constantly up-to-date professional skills. For these reasons, we have decided to launch these scholarships to help undergraduates and young professionals get in better position to face these challenges."

The application periods will be announced at www.becas-santander.com during September and October, with the last period ending in January 2021.

The 1,500 Santander Scholarships as part of this initiative will be launched through five global programmes aimed at developing professional skills in technology, leadership and languages and any other key areas for today's job market: 

• Santander Women | Emerging Leaders Scholarships – LSE: 125 scholarships for women with 5 to 12 years of work experience. This programme has been designed to boost the leadership and negotiation skills of this group of women at the current stage in their careers. 
  
• Santander English for Professional Development Scholarships – Upenn: 500 scholarships for non-English-speaking students with up to ten years of work experience to improve their language skills and knowledge as regards their professional development. They will gain more knowledge about job searching and job interviews as well as have the chance to analyse their careers. 
  
• Santander Digital & Innovation Scholarships for MIT Professional Education: 400 scholarships for undergraduates and young professionals wishing to enhance their digital skills with six training programmes on technological skills such as blockchain, machine learning, etc.
  
• Santander Skills for Professional Development Scholarships – ESADE: 400 scholarships for undergraduates, master's degree students and graduates with limited professional experience to gain or improve their skills in leadership, process development, team management, work methods and other aspects.
  
• Santander Tech Revolution in Finance Scholarships – IE University: 100 scholarships for graduates and undergraduates in the final two years of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) degrees with a view to offering them basic tools to discover the excellent professional potential offered by the world of finance.
  

The #InvestInYou initiative forms part of Banco Santander's global support plan of EUR 100 million to fight against COVID-19 and the pandemic's negative effects. For education alone, the bank has earmarked EUR 30 million through Santander Universities to promote research projects into the development of vaccines, medicines and new diagnosis tests; provide support for students experiencing economic difficulties; and work on reinforcing the university system's digital transition. 

Banco Santander and its support of higher education
Banco Santander is firmly committed to progress and inclusive, sustainable growth, with a long-standing dedication to higher education that sets it apart from the world's other financial institutions. With more than €1,800 million invested in academic initiatives since 2002 through Santander Universities and over 430,000 university scholarships and grants awarded since 2005, it has been recognised as the company that invests the most in education worldwide (Varkey/UNESCO, Fortune 500 Report), with 1,000 agreements in place with universities and institutions in 22 countries.