IET: New £1million fund for Britain’s Brightest Students

13th September 2012, London, UK:  The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) is today launching new funding of £1 million towards scholarships for students considering a future in engineering.

With applications now open for university entry in 2013, the IET is widening its current scholarships portfolio with the ‘Diamond Jubilee’ initiative that sees a further £1,000,000 investment to help aspiring engineers to achieve their ambitions. The Diamond Jubilee Scholarships will target students applying for IET accredited courses in Computing, Electrical, Electronic and Manufacturing Engineering from 2013. The initiative means that every student achieving three A grades at A-Level will be awarded with £1,000 for each year of their degree.

The IET now urges industry to join its Diamond initiative to help sustain this level of scholarships for the future.

“Job prospects in these sectors continue to look strong, with companies continually seeking talented graduate engineers and scientists, as well as technicians and apprentices,” says Linda Deleay, IET’s Awards and Prizes Manager. “The IET’s 2012 Skills and Demand in Industry Survey shows that for the first time since the recession, companies are more confident in expanding their engineering workforce. As young people begin to realise the long-term investment they are making, the IET will assist in turning this investment into a worthwhile reality.”

In response to continued concerns over tuition fees, the IET is also calling for greater clarification about the money available to help cash-strapped students. The call to action follows analysis of over 800 tweets on tuition fees revealed that 40 per cent of people still had questions regarding tuition fees and sought advice amongst their peers about the repayments process. While 47 per cent of tweets monitored were negative about tuition fees, just 2 per cent enquired about extra funding or scholarships to help with fees.

Notes to Editors
The IET is reaching out to students applying for an IET accredited degrees to tweet @IETAwards with the hashtag #IETambition to seek information about how to apply for the wide number of IET scholarships and awards available throughout 2013.

The Ambition Awards are available through the IET to students wishing to pursue a career in engineering. Applicants currently studying or about to commence an IET accredited degree programme in the UK have the opportunity to secure up to £3,000 per annum to put towards their studies. The winners of the 2012 Ambition Awards will be announced in November 2012. Applications for the 2013 Awards will open in January 2013.      

About IET Awards & Scholarships

The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) is Europe’s largest professional engineering society, sharing and advancing knowledge to promote science, engineering and technology across the world.  Part of its remit is promoting, recognising and rewarding excellence and it does this through four awards programmes: The Ambition Awards, Achievement Awards, Innovation Awards and Young Woman Engineer of the Year Awards.

The IET Ambition Awards programme includes a range of undergraduate and postgraduate scholarships, competitions and travel awards encouraging young people to enter the engineering and technology profession and providing financial support throughout university. The IET Achievement Awards recognise the exceptional achievements of individuals working in the engineering and technology profession.  The IET Innovation Awards celebrate the products, technologies and processes that lead the way in engineering innovation.  The IET Young Woman Engineer of the Year Awards recognise and promote women in engineering and technology and encourage more women to join the profession.
For more information, please visit: www.theiet.org/awards.