Two years on from welcoming its first students in 2021, Hertfordshire-based NMITE has launched its ‘Life Changer’ bursary initiative and is showcasing the impact it has achieved locally with a supporting campaign ‘Changing Lives’. Launching on 6 November, the campaign aims to encourage aspiring students from or studying in Herefordshire to seize the opportunities available for the September 2024 intake by highlighting the stories of the many lives NMITE has already changed for the better.

The 30 bursaries available offer local students a unique chance for higher education within their own community. Upon acceptance, each student will receive a non-means-tested cash bursary, ranging from £7,000 to £10,000, depending on their chosen degree programme, providing them with the launchpad needed to embark on their higher education journey. Generating awareness and engaging with the local community, Changing Lives will be visible across the county and NMITE will be sharing authentic perspectives and stories from students, staff and industry partners, helping to demonstrate the impact it has made.

Robert Halfon, Minister for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education, said: “I am an enormous advocate of social mobility through education, and it is fantastic to see this investment in future talent from NMITE. This new bursary scheme will help change peoples lives in the local community and beyond, giving them a ladder of opportunity into dynamic and competitive industries.”

James Newby (pictured below), NMITE’s president and chief executive, said: “The Life Changer bursaries are more than just financial support; they are an investment in the future of Herefordshire. The generous donors behind our bursaries are not only helping us to foster local talent through education, they are nurturing a skilled workforce right here in our community. We believe in removing barriers and creating pathways to success, and nothing could be better than using our current student community to tell their compelling stories about the changes and impact NMITE is already achieving.”

New bursary initiative
These stories will be seen and heard throughout Herefordshire via NMITE’s social channels, including videos on YouTube, with posters displayed by local businesses and supporters and at local Herefordshire locations and landmarks. The plan is to ensure that everyone locally will have the opportunity to see, hear and read what a difference NMITE is making and intends to make in the future via the new bursary initiative.

An example of one of the students who will feature is Dan James, a local NMITE student pursuing an MEng degree since 2022. He said: “NMITE is offering higher education on our doorstep; something I never thought possible growing up. The opportunity to connect with local business partners is invaluable, especially for someone like me seeking a career in the Herefordshire area.”

Peter Jelf, founder and director of Visicon, an employer partner of NMITE for over three years, said: “NMITE is attracting students from all over the country, but having this resource on your doorstep for students in Herefordshire is a brilliant thing. With these bursaries, you do not have to ‘pay to stay away’, it is just a real win for young people looking to get into engineering in Herefordshire. What initially drew me to NMITE was the way it is approaching degree-level engineering education. What NMITE is doing differently is embracing the best of both worlds and it is bringing hands-on, actual project-based engineering to degree-level courses.”

Jesse Norman, MP for Hereford and South Herefordshire, who originally conceived the idea of a new, higher education offering in Hereford, said: “NMITE has always had a core mission to create life-changing educational and school opportunities for young people living in and studying in the county. That is just what these new Life Changer bursaries will d.”

Visit the website here for more information, to hear the Changing Lives stories or to apply for a bursary here.