RCSU provides UROP Bursary for student from lower income background

The RCSU UROP bursary has been awarded to an undergraduate student from the Department of Chemistry. This is a new initiative where the funding will be from the RCSU for students from lower income backgrounds.

Plabon Saha commented: “We also understand that one bursary might not make a huge difference but this is seen as a symbolic gesture that we hope will encourage the faculty to look into this issue and increase funding. We also hope that some provision can be set up for students from lower income backgrounds to undertake UROP placements. In the future, it was decided that the RCSU will look towards pitching the idea of an UROP Bursary to our sponsors and hopefully replicate the BP awards that currently exist in Engineering.”

The student receiving the funding said: “I was delighted when I received the news that I had been awarded the RCSU UROP bursary. Without it, my summer project may not have been able to go ahead. Bursaries such as these go a very long way in ensuring nobody is denied a valuable research opportunity purely on financial grounds and therefore allow the recipient to gain essential research experience without having to worry about how living costs are going to be met. I strongly recommend to anybody taking part in a summer project worried about the financial side apply for a UROP bursary - it really does help!”

RCSU President Plabon Saha said, ““UROP represents a great opportunity for students to explore a career in research. It plays a vital role in encouraging students into scientific careers and I believe more should be done to encourage students into science careers. I hope the steps the RCSU has taken this year is the start of a new push towards encouraging more UROP opportunities and increase funding for this programme. I am glad I played a role in this.””