Help is at hand as Millennium Point Trust Scholarship deadline approaches

There’s just over two weeks remaining to grab the opportunity of a lifetime, and apply for the 2023 Millennium Point Trust Scholarship and help is at hand for any students in need of support to complete their application.

Submissions close on March 23rd for the chance to win a fully paid-for degree in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths). The programme, now in its ninth year, offers one lucky undergraduate complete funding for their degree, from a choice of over 20 courses at the faculty of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment at Birmingham City University (BCU). The scholarship is the flagship initiative from the Millennium Point Charitable Trust and is fully funded by the charity.

A shortlist of candidates will be invited to present to a panel of judges at an Assessment Day, with the winner announced a few weeks later.

The Millennium Point Trust team is on hand to help any students looking to apply – simply email [email protected].

We asked our previous winners for tips

We have also enlisted the assistance of former scholarship winners, who have been through the process and know a few ‘tricks of the trade’.

Ryan Dowell, who won the scholarship in 2018, graduated with a first-class honours degree in Civil Engineering, in 2021. He is currently working in Dublin, on the graduate programme at Ireland’s leading builder and contractor John Sisk and Son. Ryan has already worked on the landmark Fibonacci Square project for Meta, and is now working on 4 Park Place, in the heart of the Irish capital.

Ryan commented: “The scholarship was a key point in my development – before this point I had not delivered a presentation to a large group. I can confidently say that the experience helped build my confidence when speaking to people who I do not know. The location and people I have met have also made the choice to attend BCU one of the best I made.”

Ryan’s top tips for applicants:

• Make sure you are open and honest when you are writing your application. Show who you truly are and what this opportunity will mean to you.
• When choosing your topic – first and foremost – elect for a topic that you find interesting. Having a specific topic, you are passionate about will motivate you to find those little bits of information that will elevate your presentation.
• Keep your presentation simple, adding in some key terms and jargon is all well and good but you will be relying on remembering your words. Having a streamlined and simple presentation will help you in remembering and delivering a cohesive and collected presentation.
• Practise several times until you can remember your key overarching points well.

Asima Adnan from Dudley, the 2021 Scholarship winner, is currently in her second year of studying for a degree in Planning at BCU. She commented: “Winning the scholarship was a wonderful surprise. It allowed me as a single mom to concentrate on building myself as a strong academic individual rather than to worry about how to financially pay back for what I have achieved. Millennium Point has given me the financial and emotional support I need to continue progressing into achieving my degree.”

Applications are only being accepted from students in the West Midlands region, who cannot already be studying for an undergraduate degree. Submissions are particularly being encouraged from traditionally marginalised groups in the field of STEM.

All of the commercial activity that takes place in the Millennium Point building feeds back into the Millennium Point Charitable Trust, enabling the charity to donate, invest and facilitate more than £3.25m to STEM related organisations, projects and initiatives in the West Midlands, during 2022.

For more information, visit www.millenniumpoint.org.uk/scholarship