Santander chief visits Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é for five-year anniversary
Ana Botin trying out her golf swing
Chief Executive of Santander UK Ana Botin spoke on the UK economy at a special lecture at Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é yesterday to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the agreement signed with Santander, through its Santander Universities Global Division.
Since the partnership began in 2008, over £1million of philanthropic funding has been drawn down to support a wide range of activities and initiatives for students and staff, including scholarships, research and enterprise awards, volunteer schemes, internships and internationalisation projects. To date, nearly 200 scholarships have been funded for students and staff from over 11 different countries.
During the celebrations, Ana Botin signed the renewal of the agreement with Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é, pledging support to the University over the next three years.
In her lecture ‘The Future of the UK Economy and the Role of Entrepreneurs’, which was attended by more than 100 guests, Ms Botin spoke about the importance of education, SMEs and banks in creating sustainable economic growth.
Following the lecture Ms Botin, a keen golfer, visited the University’s Sports Technology Institute golf lab where she received expert analysis of her golf swing.
She also met with some of Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é’s entrepreneurial graduates - Ross Kemp, Becky White and the team behind Tom’s Fudge - who have benefitted from awards programmes supported by Santander Universities.
Ana Botin, CEO Santander UK said:
“I would like to thank Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é for giving me the chance to speak to some of its students and staff today. The partnership between Santander and the University is going from strength to strength and I have no doubt that the renewal of the agreement will make a big difference to the professional and academic development of many students and researchers at Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é.”
Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é Vice Chancellor Professor Bob Allison said:
“It was a great privilege to have Ana Botin on campus to join us in celebrating our five year anniversary with Santander Universities and to present an exclusive lecture in which Ms Botin shared her expertise on Entrepreneurism.
“Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é is very proud of the strong and dynamic relationship we have with Santander and we look forward to continuing to work together to enhance the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é experience.”
On the same day Ms Botin met with regional businessmen at an event where the Bank discussed funding opportunities for SMEs. The Bank is currently engaged in a nationwide programme to boost lending to small and medium enterprises to speed up the recovery of the UK economy.
The partnership between the two organisations is managed by Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é’s Development and Alumni Relations Office.
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