When you’re looking to lease a commercial property, it’s important that you ask questions to ensure there aren’t any nasty surprises after you’ve signed your contract.

Below we’ve put together 12 questions you can ask before you lease your next commercial property:

Is the property in a good location?

Location is ultimately one of the most important factors to consider when looking for a property. You want a property that’s easy for you, your staff and your clients to visit, meaning it should be as close as possible to get to and would be beneficial if it was near multiple transport links.

Does the property suit my commercial needs?

The property you’re looking at may currently or previously have been used for something entirely different to your intended purpose. If this is the case you may want to look into how much work is needed to be done in order for it to meet your requirements.

If you find yourself in this situation you may also want to ask whether you need planning permission to change the purpose of the property. Due to this, it may be beneficial to look for a property that is currently being used in the same way you plan to so that you can avoid any extra costs like planning permission and building materials.

When do I need to pay rent and how much is it?

Understanding when your rent is due allows you to pay it on time and lets you know whether you need to pay rent monthly or quarterly. You may also want to ask questions like:

Are there any restrictions on assigning or subletting the property?

There may be a number of reasons why you want to come out of your contract early. If you decide to do this then it’s usually done through an assignment (where you transfer the lease over to a new tenant) or through subletting (letting all or part of the property to a third party making them your tenant). 

Your decision to assign or sublet is usually based on how much control you still want to have over the property. For example, if you choose assignment then the tenant you transfer the lease over to will become liable for any obligations under the lease and you are likely to need to enter into an ‘Authorised Guarantee Agreement’ or ‘AGA’. The agreement basically means that if the new tenant fails to abide by the terms of the lease (including not paying rent) then the landlord may come to you for a solution. 

What’s the length of the lease?

Understanding how long the length of your lease is gives you the opportunity to discover whether the tenancy agreement suits you. For example, if you’re looking for a commercial property for a short period of time, you won’t want a long term lease. 

Is the lease protected by the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954?

It may be ideal to look for a property protected by the Landlord and Tenant Act of 1954, as it gives tenants of commercial properties an automatic renewal at the end of the lease agreement, except in certain circumstances. These circumstances could include the owner wanting to sell the property or redevelop it.

In many cases landlords will exclude the security tenure provisions in legislation so that they can ensure the lease does come to an end. 

Is there a break option?

Having a break option gives you the chance to leave your premises early should any changes occur within your business. You may also want to check to see if the landlord has included a break clause where both the tenant or owner can enforce it. If a break does occur then you or your landlord are required to serve notice within a set period of time. 

What rights does the lease grant and what rights are reserved by the Landlord?

Usually standard leases include rights granted for the tenants benefit along with rights retained by the landlord. It’s important that you read the lease properly and ensure they include any extra benefits you need to use the property effectively. 

You may also want to look for things in the contract like:

Asking these sorts of questions will help you understand whether the property meets your requirements.

Do I have any obligations to fix any problems in the building?

Most leases want you to look after the property, however you want to make sure that they haven’t put responsibility on you to fix any damages or improve the property. This can help you save money through not spending on unnecessary repairs and purchases. 

What are my obligations when the lease comes to an end?

An important aspect of the contract to check is what happens when it runs out. Are you expected to remove any fixtures or alterations you’ve made or are you expected to redecorate to the landlord’s satisfaction? 

Understanding these things stops you from running into any unexpected problems as you leave.

Can I legally use the property for my business?

Leases can limit how you use the property, so you should ask the landlord what you’re allowed to use it for. It’s also your responsibility to check what planning permissions you have, as you don’t want any surprises in the future. 

Who is responsible for the buildings insurance?

When it comes to insurance, the landlord usually pays for it and they can ask the tenant to either pay the premium or a part of the insurance if there are multiple tenants in the building.

However, even though the landlord tends to pay for the buildings insurance, you as the tenant will still be required to ensure your possessions within the building.

How can Millennium Point help you?

Here at Millennium Point we have a number of commercial leases that could be perfect for you. Our spaces have:

We’re also located in Birmingham City Centre and are only a 15 minute walk away from New Street Station and Snow Hill Station, a 5 minute walk away from Moor Street Station and are  also very close to the motorway and bus routes, making it easy to commute to.

For more information on what properties we have available, visit our website.

Bader Media Entertainment CIC are back at Millennium point! Last year they premiered their latest film The Shimian in the 354-seater Auditorium. The horror film that will leave you wanting to sleep with the light on, can now be watched on Amazon Prime and other streaming services.

Now they’re back to now make Millennium Point their new home. We caught up with the team to see how they’re settling in.

About Bader Media Entertainment CIC

Bader Media Entertainment CIC are a production company with a combined passion for film making and protecting the environment. Profits made from projects go to charities and organisations that focus on combatting litter. Based in the UK, they product high-quality creative content for entertainment, community interest, and to promote their mission to protecting the planet.

Catching up and current projects

The team at Bader Media Entertainment CIC aren’t currently working on another horror film, but are working with several charities on some exciting projects.

The Sealed Knot

The Sealed Knot Charity commemorates UK history in several ways. They perform re-enactments in local communities based around battles, skirmishes, and sieges of the English Civil War. They are the oldest re-enactment society in the UK, a registered educational charity, and the single biggest re-enactment in Europe. Bader Media Entertainment CIC will be spending time with the Knot to create a recruitment commercial which will aim to showcase the fantastic social side of being a member of The Sealed Knot.

The Douglas Bader Foundation’s Bader’s Big Band

Bader’s Big Band is an ambitious project founded the first ever big band consisting almost entirely of musicians from the UK with a physical disability or diagnosed mental health condition. The band have performed at concerts, air shows, festivals, and private events.

James Peakman, Director of Bader Media Entertainment CIC explained how ‘there’s nothing quite like it’.

Continuing ‘Bader Media Entertainment CIC was named after Sir Douglas Bader. Therefore it is an honour for us to be working with his family and foundation on a documentary telling individual stories of the musicians and how they come together to play music with the big band’.

Memory Laners

The Memory Laners are a small charity based in Berwick Upon Tweed that run musical events and social activities at the Maltings Travis Studio for people living with dementia and their family and friends. Bader Media Entertainment CIC are producing a short promotional documentary showing all the great work that’s achieved there.

Other projects

Keep up to date with Bader Media Entertainment CIC here to see all the fantastic work they do.

Book in a visit to Millennium Point to view your future office space

We have a wide range of office spaces available in our landmark venue, right in the heart of Birmingham City Centre.

Take a look at our current spaces and get in contact with our friendly property team, we can’t wait to meet you!

Make Millennium Point your place to go this Christmas in our award-winning Birmingham city centre venue. Expect to receive first-class hospitality, hassle-free planning, and a high-quality service when you book with us. Confirm your Christmas party at Millennium Point by 31st July 2023 and we will upgrade your package to include complimentary prosecco for every 5 guests booked.

Have a night to remember this Christmas for your exclusive party

Give your guests the VIP treatment with our Exclusive Christmas Party package. The package comes with the sumptuous three course Christmas banqueting menu and is £49.95 per person (plus VAT).

Guests will be treated to an arrival drink in the stunning glass Atrium. After you have finished, take your seat for your sumptuous three-course Christmas dinner.

Tables will be dressed in stylish centre pieces with a luxury cracker and associated novelties for each guests to enjoy. Prefer a personal touch? Light up the space with brand colours, with the option to bring your own centre pieces to really make the space your own. Later, guests can party on the dancefloor with our resident DJ and take full advantage of the private fully licenced bar.

For guests that want a bigger experience, our events team are always happy to help discuss bespoke packages. Why not book our big Auditorium space as an additional extra, previously an IMAX cinema, now one of the biggest screens in Birmingham. Perfect for hosting awards, having a presentation, or treat your staff to a festive film.

The Exclusive Christmas Party package is suitable for party sizes of 100-200, enquire now.

For smaller teams, Millennium Point has you covered with our shared Christmas Party

Taking place at our award-winning Birmingham city centre venue on Saturday 9th December, this package includes a three-course dinner and a fully licenced bar. Throughout the night enjoy all the festive classics while you dance the night away on the dancefloor.

Tickets just cost £44.95 +VAT, this is a great event to attend without having to break the bank. Tickets are sold by the table (minimum of 8 tickets). Book your table now.

Whichever you choose, you can be assured that you and your guests will receive outstanding hospitality, which is big on quality without maxing the company card. Find out more about our Christmas packages here.

A menu worth talking about

Our new Christmas menu is sure to leave guests more than satisfied, with vegan, gluten free and other alternatives available, there is something for everyone this festive season.

Find out more about our delicious menus here.

Early bird gets the prosecco

Confirm your Christmas party at Millennium Point by 31st July 2023 and we will upgrade your package to include a complimentary prosecco for every 5 guests booked. Meaning you can truly bring in the Christmas cheer with your team.

Terms and conditions can be found here.

Make your event sparkle when booking with Millennium Point

If you have something in mind our friendly events team have over 40 years in events experience and are happy to help. Get in contact for any questions you may have with our team.

Whether you’re a small, medium or large sized company, meeting rooms can be key to driving successful business decisions. When people think of meeting rooms they tend to think about them being within their own office, however this doesn’t need to be the case. 

The Covid-19 pandemic has impacted many businesses, by causing them to move toward hybrid working and downsizing their offices. Due to this, meeting room hires have become more popular as they’re convenient and more affordable than paying for an office with space you don’t regularly need. 

With Birmingham having great transport links and a fantastic business community, it’s one of the best places to hire a meeting room for your next business discussion. Due to this, our blog explores why you should hire a meeting room in Birmingham.

Benefits of hiring a meeting room

Hiring a meeting room has many benefits, such as:

It creates a professional image

Using a dedicated meeting room instead of coworking spaces or coffee shops creates more of a professional look to your meeting. It also provides a private meeting space and encourages people to speak openly and honestly as conversations can’t be overheard by others. 

Giving a professional feel to your meetings can also instil confidence in your clients, partners and staff, helping your meetings be more successful. 

They can provide state-of-the-art facilities

Many meeting rooms available to hire come with state-of-the-art facilities meaning you don’t have to spend your time and money investing in technology for meetings. 

Equipment usually provided includes:

These facilities can help presenting and video calls run smoothly and efficiently throughout the entire discussion.

They provide flexibility and scalability

A great thing about hiring a meeting room is that you can look for one that suits your specific needs, offering you flexibility and scalability within your meeting. When looking for a meeting room you can consider:

They can be cost effective

When you don’t need to use meeting rooms often it can be cost effective to hire them instead. Hiring meeting rooms removes the need to spend money setting up and maintaining a space. It also means that when you pay for a room you can expect them to be of a high quality that are sure to meet the needs and requirements of your meeting. 

It helps stimulate productivity and focus

Research suggests that a change of working environment can promote productivity and focus. This can help you get the most out of your meeting and progress efficiently. 

Other factors that promote focus and productivity include:

Why host a meeting in Birmingham

There are many benefits to hosting a meeting in Birmingham, such as

Its central location

Birmingham’s central location makes it easy for people to attend meetings due to it having various types of transport links. These include:

It has a diverse business community

Birmingham is a huge business hub for all kinds of companies giving you the opportunity to meet new clientele or potential employees all around the city. Working around an abundance of businesses can also inspire new ideas and opportunities inside and outside of your meeting.

It has fantastic entertainment opportunities

The city is known for having an amazing range of museums, exhibitions and food places to indulge in, giving you the perfect opportunity to interact with your clients or colleagues on a more personal level outside of your meeting. 

What makes a good conference room? 

When searching for a conference room there are a few things you should look out for, such as:

Why should you hire a meeting room at Millennium Point?

Here at Millennium Point we’re located in Birmingham City centre, making it easy for all meeting attendees to get here. 

We also have a range of meeting rooms available for hire such as:

Express

Express has one main room and 3 smaller boardrooms, which can be used as offices, speaker green rooms or quiet rooms, perfect for meetings or presentations.

Express also benefits from:

To learn more about Express, visit our website.

Curzon Rooms

The Curzon Rooms offer easy access and screen presentation facilities that are perfect for your next meeting.

Other benefits include:

To learn more about the Curzon Rooms, visit our website.

Curzon Suite

The Curzon Suite is a part of the Curzon Rooms, but has a few extra benefits, such as:

To learn more about our Curzon Suite, visit our website.

Auditorium 

The Auditorium previously was the first IMAX in the West Midlands and is equipped with everything you need to engage an audience. 

The Auditorium offers:

To learn more about the Auditorium, visit our website. 

Many office spaces have long-term lease agreements that last at least a year, not giving businesses a lot of freedom or wiggle room to change their mind if they outgrow the space or if it just isn’t quite working for them.

However when it comes to short-term lease agreements, you gain more flexibility to be able to move around as your business grows.

Benefit 1 – Lower cost

Usually short-term office leases are a cheaper option. If you rent a space that’s furnished you can avoid the expenses that come along with having to equip an office. This could save you money on things like:

You’re also not responsible for maintenance of the building helping you save significant amounts of money on routine maintenance costs or paying for anything that goes wrong. 

Benefit 2 – It’s more flexible

Short-term office leases give you the opportunity to move around as your business grows, meaning you won’t be stuck in one place for a prolonged period of time. It will also give you greater flexibility to adapt to challenging periods or uncertainties, for example, you could easily switch to remote working while your office space is upgraded or adapted to better suit your operational needs.

Adding on to this, the current challenging economic times due to the cost of living crisis and the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic have had significant impacts on what people and businesses can and can’t afford. Opting for a short-term lease can help you navigate changing conditions, giving you the opportunity to make the best decisions for your staff and business.

Benefit 3 – It’s a quick and easy process 

Another benefit of short-term leases is that they don’t take a lot of time to set up. If you’re looking for somewhere you can move into quickly then a short-term renting option may be perfect for you. This might also be useful if you think you may need to move offices often or if you would rather move to suit your changing needs rather than devote resources to adapt your current office space.

Benefit 4 – There’s more support for scalability 

When you opt for a short term lease it gives you the opportunity to scale your business. For example a lot of offices with short term leases tend to give you the option to use pay-per-use services. This allows you to only pay for the space you use meaning you can save money through not spending the money on rooms you don’t use.

Being able to save more money could give you the opportunity to scale up to a bigger office in the future if you’re planning on growing significantly in terms of staff expansion. 

Benefit 5 – You gain premium services 

Another benefit of short term leases is that they tend to offer premium services such as offering free food, coffee mornings, paying for features like microwaves or kettles etc. 

Long term leases tend to lack premium services as you’ve already locked in for a longer period of time. Whereas, short-term rental agreements have more opportunities to offer premium services, as they tend to have a higher turnover and want to encourage people to keep paying for new contracts.

How can Millennium Point help you find the right short-term office space for you?

Here at Millennium Point we have a variety of rooms that could be perfect for your next short-term office space.

Our office spaces come with flexible ownership options that suit you, as well as our friendly team being on site to support you with any queries you have until you move out of your office. 

Our spaces with short-term office leases include:

Engine

Engine benefits from lots of natural light and overlooks the conservatoire, where you’ll be away from the footfall of Millennium Point. 

It’s located on level 4 and offers a second office alongside an adjacent private boardroom. 

Other features include:

Station Studios

Station Studios has multiple sized rooms, making it suitable for dance groups, yoga sessions or acting rehearsals, where you can choose between mirrored or non-mirrored studios.

Key features include:

Shuttle 

Shuttle is situated on level 3 and keeps you away from the busy footfall of Millennium Point. Shuttle also has one main office and a small office that’s perfect for meetings or hosting guests. 

Key features:

Make an inquiry today to see what office space is perfect for you.

STEM education is an important part of a school’s curriculum and has a huge impact on the way that children learn and develop.

This blog will explore everything you need to know about STEM education and learning, to help raise awareness of its importance and encourage others to implement it.

What is STEM? 

STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and maths. However, rather than teaching the subjects separately, STEM education uses a combined approach to encourage and better equip students to consider careers within the industry. 

Why is STEM important?

STEM is important in teaching children the skills that are essential to their development. 

With the constant improvements and new developments in technology, it is becoming more important for children to learn skills such as computer programming and computational thinking as well as media literacy. 

Furthermore, STEM encourages children to ask questions and solve real world problems, helping to prepare them for later education and adult life. 

Benefits of STEM

STEM education has many benefits for children, such as:

Encourages creativity

STEM education encourages creativity and innovation, allowing new technologies, solutions and ideas to emerge. 

The teaching of STEM not only helps children’s development and learning but also helps the population and planet to develop as well.

Builds resilience

The teaching of STEM allows students to experiment and experience failure. Due to this, children become resilient through learning to get back up and try again. 

Promotes teamwork

STEM education doesn’t split children apart because of their varying education levels. Instead, it encourages children of all levels to work together to learn and develop new skills, while building a community that’s willing to learn new things.

Encourages use of technology

STEM teaches the power of technology and innovation, helping children learn various technologies. This will also promote adaptability, allowing children to take on challenges head on rather than hesitating or worrying about changes.

Impacts of early STEM education

Early STEM education helps children build various important skills that they may otherwise miss if they weren’t taught it.

Benefits of early STEM education include:

Hands on experience

It would be a mistake to think that STEM education only focuses on equations and complex experiments. It also focuses on hands-on experiences, providing a gateway into subjects like maths and science. 

Early STEM teaching could include things like making paper aeroplanes or building a rocket out of recycled materials. This helps to embed creative, problem solving and ideation skills, allowing children to further develop throughout education.

Memory retention

Teaching STEM at an early age can help children improve their memory retention. STEM education has a typical retention rate of 80-90% whereas traditional education only has a 5% retention rate.

Building children’s memory retention as early as possible gives them a great headstart when it comes to learning and developing throughout their education. 

Language development 

STEM education can help children’s language development. This will help increase vocabulary and help improve children’s conversational skills, while helping them learn a new subject.

Collaborative education

Many STEM activities involve collaborative learning, encouraging children to work as a team and develop conversational and explanatory skills. 

Prepares them for higher education

All of the skills children learn in early STEM education prepares them with skills needed for higher education. 

Instilling curiosity and creativity will also encourage children to study STEM subjects in further education and develop future careers.  

How can parents implement STEM in early childhood?

STEM education can be easily implemented into a child’s daily routine. This can be done through:

How to implement STEM into the school curriculum

STEM education is essential for children’s learning and development, which is why it needs to be implemented into schools’ curriculum more often. Stem education can be taught in a variety of ways, such as:

Project based learning

This involves children working on a project for a specific period of time where they can learn new skills and apply their knowledge to solve a problem. Teachers should allow children to take full control of the project, which could involve building a model bridge or designing an app.

Inquiry based learning

Inquiry based learning encourages students to ask as many questions as they like relating to the subject they’re learning. This helps them develop critical thinking, questioning and problem solving skills.

This is another student led learning practice that involves teachers prompting reflection and curiosity.

How to engage students in STEM

Currently, STEM industries have a small number of graduates, however a lack of diversity is an even bigger issue for the industry.

So how can we engage more students in STEM to help reduce the diversity gap and increase the number of STEM graduates?

Diversity and inclusion

Research shows that after GCSEs only 35% of female students decide to carry on studying STEM subjects, with only 25% of females carrying on with it after university. 

To encourage more females to study STEM subjects we could:

To learn more about the gender gap in STEM and what can be done to help close it, read our blog.

Tips for teachers

Introducing STEM focussed lessons into the curriculum can be slightly daunting. That’s why we’ve written a few tips to help those teaching STEM lessons.

What is Millennium Point doing to support STEM education?

The STEM round table was created by The Millennium Point Charitable Trust to bring together STEM industries, primary and secondary education, further education and not-for-profits in STEM sectors. 

The working group aims:

Get in touch with our Trust Team today to see how you can get involved in supporting the growth of STEM education.

Scholarships often include interview stages to allow the scholarship body to get to know you further. Due to this, it’s important to prepare for any questions that may be asked. This will help you be as successful as possible.  

This blog will explore commonly asked interview questions and provide you with possible answers.

1. Tell us about yourself

This question is a great way for the interviewer to learn more about you as a person, as well as allowing you to establish why you deserve the scholarship over anyone else. You can start off with general information about yourself, but should use specifics later on, such as talking about your skillset and any experience that sets you apart. 

Example answer: I’m really interested in the way in which things work, which is why I have chosen to undertake a degree in engineering. I’ve already undertaken work experience at a local car garage learning the basics of engineering, which helped me develop problem solving and organisational skills.

2. Why did you choose this scholarship? 

Your response should highlight your passion for your degree and how the scholarship will help with your future. 

Example answer: I chose this scholarship because it will help me achieve my future academic and career goals. The scholarship will support me throughout my degree enabling me to develop a career in engineering where I can focus on creating innovative solutions that will help people in the future. 

3. Why do you deserve this scholarship?

Use this as an opportunity to be honest about your intentions within your degree, scholarship and future career. This is also another chance to let the interviewer get to know you more. 

Example answer: I’m particularly interested in cyber security and with technology constantly being improved and cyber attacks being more likely, it’s urgent that new cyber crime solutions are found. This scholarship will not only help me through my university journey financially but will help me find new ways to protect people.

4. What has been your greatest achievement?

Talk about a significant achievement or project you’ve worked on and why it’s important to you.

Example answer: Last year I worked on a fundraising project that helped raise money for those affected by homelessness. This resonated with me, as I want to try and make as big of an impact as possible on people’s lives, whether this is within my degree or outside of it.

Other questions could include:

How to answer interview questions

As the saying goes, by failing to prepare you prepare to fail. Answering interview question can be fairly easy once you’ve completed the following steps:

Always practice!

Practising your interview answers can go a long way. For example, it can help you feel more confident during your interview, allowing you to make the best possible first impression. 

However, you don’t want to memorise your answers as this will feel unnatural and will appear obvious to the interviewer.

Do your research

Researching the scholarship body to understand their values and goals is extremely important as it will allow you to tailor your answers. Taking note of eligibility criteria will also allow you to highlight areas you apply to, demonstrating why you’re a great candidate.

Consider using the STAR method

Using the STAR method allows you to cover all areas, helping you give the best possible answers.

The STAR method stands for:

Millennium Point Charitable Trust’s scholarship

Our Charitable Trust has partnered with Birmingham City University to provide a fully funded undergraduate degree at their Faculty of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment. 

Your scholarship application is the first point of contact you have with the scholarship body. The decision on whether you progress to the next level is solely based on your application, making it imperative that you write the best application possible. 

To help ensure success, we’ve put together 5 tips to help you write a great scholarship application.

Check you’re eligible

Before writing your application, you want to make sure you’re actually eligible, as you don’t want to waste time applying to scholarships you’re not eligible for.

Eligibility criteria will also give you an idea of the goals the scholarship is trying to meet and the value they want to provide. They also give you a good idea on whether you’re likely to receive the scholarship and what information you should include in your application.

To learn more about what you can do before writing your application, read our blog.

Write an introduction 

Including an opening paragraph in your application will allow you to showcase why you should receive the scholarship you’re applying to. 

Your introduction should include information about you, such as:

When describing yourself you should discuss your educational background and your passion behind your chosen degree. 

Outline your academic interests and academic goals

Due to scholarships being an investment in students’ futures, it is important to give the board the opportunity to understand how the scholarship will help you in the present and the future, as they like to understand the impact it will have on your goals.

Furthermore, scholarships are often awarded to financially support students through their academic journey, highlighting the need for you to demonstrate the passion you have for your degree as well as your future academic goals.

When writing your application you basically want to highlight why you should be awarded the scholarship over anyone else. Discussing what you plan to do post education can help cement your passion for your academic subject to the scholarship board, increasing your chances of being successful.

Proofread your application

It’s so important to proofread your application before your submission, whether this is completed by you, someone else or both. Getting a second pair of eyes on your application is always beneficial as it will help you pick out any mistakes or areas of improvements you can make.

This will help to strengthen your application and increase your chances of receiving the scholarship.x

Scholarship application template

[Full Name]

[Phone number] [Email address]

Dear [Scholarship review committee]

I’m applying to this scholarship because [include details about how the scholarship offering body aligns with your views and goals] [You can also talk about your current educational experience, for example are you currently studying a degree or are you planning on studying a degree in the future] 

During my education and/or work experience I gained skills such as… through undertaking tasks like… [Discuss significant academic or personal achievements that have given you skills that relate to the scholarship you’re applying to]

I have a passion for [degree name] as it has impacts on… The scholarship will help me achieve goals like… [solidify your motivations for applying and passions for your degree to] 

Thank you for taking the time to consider my application. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Best regards,

[Full name]

[Signature] 

Millennium Point Charitable Trust’s Scholarship

If you’re looking to study a STEM subject at university, you could benefit from our scholarship. We have partnered with Birmingham City University to offer one person a fully funded university undergraduate degree every year. 

You could be eligible if:

To find out more about our scholarship, visit our website today.

Due to university being so expensive, scholarships are a great way to support students through their university journey. The financial aid scholarships provide to students can also open the door to higher education for those in underrepresented and underprivileged positions.

Many people dismiss applying to scholarships, as they don’t think that they’ll be eligible, however you could be surprised as they can be awarded for various reasons. 

Here are 5 tips to help you nail your scholarship application.

What is a scholarship 

Scholarships are usually provided by universities or third parties who offer financial aid for students to help them accelerate their career. One of the major benefits of this is that students don’t need to pay the money back, relieving them of some of the financial burdens that come along with university.

Read our complete guide to scholarships to learn more.

Types of scholarship

As stated previously, there are various types of scholarships that you may be eligible for, making it important for you to do your research. 

Types of scholarships can include:

To learn more, read our complete guide to scholarships blog.

Shop around

Instead of applying to any and every scholarship out there, it’s best to look around first to find a few that apply to you best. You may be surprised at how many scholarships you’re eligible for and therefore you want to keep your options open, by collating the best scholarships for you before applying to any.

Application processes can be lengthy and you don’t want to waste your time applying to ones you don’t want or have slim chances of getting due to your eligibility. 

Looking around allows you to find the scholarships that suit you best, giving you the opportunity to put your best effort into the application process, showing that you want to win rather than rushing through multiple applications and not giving sufficient answers. 

Check eligibility criteria

Checking the eligibility criteria of a scholarship before applying is extremely important as you don’t want to waste valuable time on applications you definitely won’t be successful in.

Furthermore, checking eligibility criteria will allow you to apply for scholarships that will provide real value to you and provide you with the support you need.

What are the timelines?

Keeping on top of scholarship deadlines is key to being successful in the application process. Scholarships can also have multiple deadlines, such as application and interview deadlines that you need to keep an eye on.

Furthermore, understanding deadlines allows you to plan a head for any documents or information you may need to provide in the future.

Understanding deadlines also allows you to spend as much time as you need filling out your application without the need to rush, helping you to write a winning submission.

Tailor your application

Tailoring your application to the scholarship you’re applying to will have a significant impact on whether you’re successful or not. Taking the time to tailor your application will show the attention to detail and effort you have put in, highlighting that you want and deserve to win the scholarship.

Being honest about why you’re applying to the scholarship, why you’re interested in your course and what you want to do with your degree in the future will help your application stand out. 

Ask for help

It never hurts to ask for help. Getting your friends, parents or teachers to proofread your application or asking for tips on how to tailor it will help you put your best foot forward. 

You could also reach out to previous scholars on LinkedIn for advice or feedback as they’ve experienced the process before. 

The great thing about asking for help is that people might point out things you may not have previously considered, helping you to boost your application even further.

The Millennium Point Charitable Trust’s scholarship

Here at Millennium Point, our Charitable Trust offers a scholarship for STEM students every year. The scholarship is partnered with Birmingham City University, where students can receive a fully funded undergraduate degree in Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment. 

Our 2023 applications are currently open, however the deadline closes on the 23rd of March 2023 at 5PM.

To be eligible for our scholarship you’ll need to meet the following criteria:

To learn more about our STEM scholarship visit our website  today.

The application deadline for our scholarship program has been extended until Thursday 23rd March 2023, giving students extra time to get their applications in for a life-changing opportunity.

Now in it’s ninth year, one lucky undergraduate gets 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.

Interested in applying but unsure what course to pick? Our recent blog outlines the best courses to choose based on what path you’re looking to take with your career.

Who can apply?

In order to apply you must live in the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) and your chosen course must be listed in the ‘What Courses are Included’ section on our application page.

Applying is easy and simple

Applications are straight forward and can be done by visiting our dedicated application page. If you need any help please visit our frequently asked questions page or speak to one of our friendly Trust team.

What did previous winners experience

Previous winners of our scholarship have experienced life-changing moments after applying, enjoying positive steps with their development and kickstarting a career in their chosen field. Our 2017 winner Sagal studied Civil Engineering, graduating with a first class honours degree and landing a role with Jacobs as a Graduate Geotechnical Engineer.

The 2021 winner Asima Adnan from Dudley, 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.”

Our charitable trust funds future talent in the region

Commercial activity that takes place in our building is funded 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.