Education is an essential pillar to ensure the progress of society and face the great challenges posed by digitalization and the global crisis unleashed by the Covid pandemic. In the face of this challenge, the support of private companies is essential. Banco Santander is the world’s most invested in education company. The entity has just renewed its cooperation agreement with Complutense University, which has been in place for more than two decades.
Both institutions have closed the foundations of the programs they will launch this year and have analyzed projects that they will jointly promote in the areas of education, research, employment and university entrepreneurship. Approximately 3,000 students, researchers and entrepreneurs from the Complutense University will receive one of the scholarships resulting from this cooperation agreement this year.
Grants, grants and prizes
Among the many other initiatives, and those to appear during 2o22, the Santander Progreso Scholarships, which aim to recognize academic excellence and promote inclusion and equal opportunity among university students, stand out; Santander Erasmus scholarships, in which the university participates; Santander UCM Doctoral Aid program for research staff, with 75 pre-doctoral contracts to complete their doctoral thesis with a contribution of over 1.6 million euros; or grant, aid, and award programs to promote entrepreneurship among young people, administered by UCM through Compluembrende.
Banco Santander president, Anna Botín, stressed last year that universities have an obligation to respond to the new challenges and needs presented by companies. In addition, “all economic sectors, including the financial sector, must reinvent themselves. Large, medium and small companies and we the people; from students to the age of fifty.” “The future of our country and the new generations will depend on what we do today.”
A quarter of a century of commitment
Santander universities have supported education, employment and entrepreneurship for a quarter of a century. There are already 630,000 students, professionals and entrepreneurs who have benefited from the 2,000 million euros invested by Bank Santander in these 25 years, according to the entity’s last quarter financial report. The group committed to fund 325,000 scholarships, training and entrepreneurship programs in 2019/2021 and far exceeded this target, reaching 387,651 scholarships.
630,000 students and professionals have benefited from the €2,000 million that Santander has invested in these 25 years
Matías Rodríguez Insart, President of Santander Universities, highlighted the “pride” of celebrating 25 years of commitment and cooperation with Complutense University during the signing of the agreement. “In 1997 we signed our first agreement, and today we continue our efforts to support more than 2,800 people each year through programs that facilitate access to quality education, enhance the employment of research staff in training and promote the development of start s range ups».
Requirements vary for each scholarship. For example, to apply for the Santander UCM PhD Scholarship, you must have Spanish citizenship, be a citizen of an EU member state or a non-EU foreign student residing in Spain. In addition, you must be enrolled in a doctoral program at UCM in the 2021-2022 academic year associated with the college for which assistance is being sought.
Programs for all
Scholarships such as Santander Estudios / Escuela Complutense de Invierno have been added to this programme. In their last call, they offered 69 courses for students, graduates, graduate students, or experienced professionals. Applicants must have undergraduate studies or, failing this, an access qualification or approved work experience in the selected subject. For their part, the Santander Studies/Escuela Complutense Verano scholarships give access to 60 face-to-face, 11 virtual and 11 blended courses, dedicated to current issues such as health, experimental sciences, social sciences, and humanities. They will take place from 4 to 22 July 2022. The registration period ends on May 6 this year..
Another program highlighted in the agreement between Santander Universities and UCM is the Santander Erasmus Scholarships 2022/23. It aims to recognize the academic excellence of Erasmus+ students and to promote social inclusion and equal opportunity.
All information about these and other scholarships can be found at Scholarships- santander.com. The site ended in 2021 with 2.5 million registered users.
For the financial group, a commitment to higher education is the way to help individuals and businesses advance and direct their efforts. It does this through Universities of Santander, a global, unique and pioneering program that offers education, employment and entrepreneurship opportunities to university students and professionals (Santander Scholarships), as well as training and support for the growth and transformation of innovative startups and SMEs. (Santander X). To the Universities of Santander, we must add Universia, the open and responsible platform for orientation, training and placement at the service of students, universities and companies; and the Fundación Universia, which promotes the social and labor inclusion of university students with disabilities.
Excellence, innovation and employment
Last year, Santander universities expanded their offer of scholarships, including new profiles. Among them, those professionals who wish to acquire new knowledge and skills in favor of their versatility and reorientation of their careers towards new work horizons (refine(or those designed to teach new skills that enhance and update professional skills and disciplines)Skills development).
The New Santander Scholarships are divided into seven categories: Santander Technologyto promote programming-based learning to master digital and technological languages such as blockchainAnd machine learning also Cloud and DevOps; Santander Skillsaimed at promoting the development of transversal skills (soft skills); Santander womenTo enhance the professional development, leadership and negotiation skills of women leaders; Santander StudiesWith the aim of contributing to the completion of studies with special assistance to strike a balance between academic excellence and scarcity of resources; Santander languagewhich enhances language proficiency; Santander trainingto enhance employment opportunities; s Santander Researchis intended for financial and economic support to undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students in their research plans.