Abbey National pledges support for Oxford scholarships and research
27 Nov 07
The University of Oxford and Abbey National plc, Santander’s UK subsidiary, have signed a three-year agreement that will create support for scholarships and research.
Santander Universities, an international scheme which already supports 575 universities in Spain, America, Portugal and the United Kingdom, will fund postgraduate scholarships, awards for academic travel, and research into corporate reputation.
There will be at least eight scholarships per year for postgraduate students from the 10 countries in the Santander’s network (comprising Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, Venezuela, Spain and Portugal). The scholarships will support students on one-year master's courses.
In addition, a fund is being created to support postgraduate students of whatever nationality in academic travel to countries within the Santander Universities’ network to attend conferences, collaborate with other universities, or carry out fieldwork.
Abbey will also support research at Oxford University’s new Centre for Corporate Reputation, based in the Saїd Business School.
The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford, Dr John Hood said: ‘There are many areas of mutual interest between Santander and Oxford and we are grateful for the support that the Group has pledged for our postgraduates and our research. We look forward to working together on other initiatives, such as ways to improve banking support to our international students.’
António Horta-Osório, Abbey’s CEO, said: ‘We are delighted to welcome the University of Oxford, one of the most prestigious in the world, into our existing Santander Universities scheme and look forward to working collaboratively for the benefit of students and scholars.’
Santander Universities is a scheme which establishes various spheres of collaboration including teaching and research, international cooperation, transfer of knowledge and technology, and new technologies.