Finalist bid a fond farewell to Millennium Point Scholarship 2020
Finalists of the latest round of the Millennium Point Scholarship reunited over Zoom one last time this month to bid a fond farewell to the competition.
Millennium Point’s annual competition awards a fully funded degree to one young person in the West Midlands. This year’s competition took place in March and followed five young hopefuls looking to start their career in several STEM industries including Cyber Security, Mechanical Engineering and Construction Management. The competition, in partnership with Birmingham City University’s Faculty of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment, was won by Shennice Talburt, who will start her undergraduate BSc (Hons) Real Estate in September. Following the end of the competition, all finalists received ongoing support including a series of 1-on-1 coaching sessions conducted online to help them with their next steps.
Read related article: Sixth Winner of the Millennium Point Scholarship Announced
Four months on, finalists met over Zoom with Millennium Point’s Interim CEO, Abbie Vlahakis, Commercial Director, Rebecca Delmore, project lead Mat Lovell and course coach Hannah Wetz to discuss their experiences during the competition, their activities over lockdown and their futures. Finalists were then encouraged to remain in contact with each other and Millennium Point as part of the scholarship alumni.
One finalist commented, “The 1-on-1 coaching sessions were really useful – particularly, because of the pandemic. I was worried about my future and the coaching sessions helped me to take a step back, manage my worries and get back on track with where I want to be.”
The aftercare programme was switched to online following the UK going into lockdown at the end of March. Additionally, Millennium Point remains in contact with each finalist to expand their networks and work experience with local businesses and business leaders for as long as the young person chooses.
Mat Lovell, Marketing Coordinator and project lead for this year’s scholarship commented, “The Millennium Point Scholarship is more than a competition. It’s a project which encourages young people to pursue STEM careers and provide a platform through which they can achieve their potential. Our aim is to make sure all finalists, whether they win or not, benefit from the competition experience which is why we have worked hard on an aftercare programme which expands their industry networks and experience while helping to develop them as the next generation of STEM leaders.”
The next round of the competition will launch officially in September 2020 with the live final scheduled for March 2021. For further information on the scholarship competition please visit our dedicated page here.
Find more interesting content from Millennium Point over at our news section, or follow us for daily updates on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn with @MillenniumPoint. Millennium Point is a landmark public building and multi-award-winning events venue in the Eastside of Birmingham City centre. Profits from our commercial activity are invested by the Millennium Point Charitable Trust into projects, events and initiatives which support the growth of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) and education in the West Midlands.
