New partner brings global benefits to BU

11 March 2009

Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Curran with Santander's Luis Juste

BU is expanding its international links through a new partnership with one of the UK's best known banking organisations.

BU has signed a new partnership agreement with Abbey, the UK subsidiary of Banco Santander, that will benefit students, researchers and entrepreneurs at the University.

The three-year investment by the Bank's 'Santander Universities' Global Division will fund scholarships to support BU postgraduate students and staff involved in projects based in countries that are part of the Santander Universities network.

The partnership will enable BU and Santander to develop seminars, conferences, professional placements and overseas exchanges, and BU's research activities in forensic sciences and the environment, based in the School of Conservation Sciences, will specifically benefit.

Santander Universities will also fund activities to nurture entrepreneurship at BU providing awards to develop student-led business ideas and encourage further links between promising entrepreneurs and experts from the business community.

The formal agreement was signed by Professor Paul Curran, BU's Vice-Chancellor, and Mr Luis Juste, 'Santander Universities' Director in the UK.

Professor Curran said: "BU is delighted to form this partnership with 'Santander Universities'. A banking organisation that is prepared to promote higher education, research and entrepreneurship is rare in the current economic climate. BU is fortunate to be linked with such a visionary partner."

'Santander Universities' UK Director, Luis Juste, adds: "Our partnership with Bournemouth University will promote the exchange of knowledge and spirit of entrepreneurship between the students and researchers at BU and their counterparts in the Latin American and Iberian institutions that are already part of the network."

Through its 'Santander Universities' Global Division, Banco Santander has invested nearly €500M since 1996 in academia through co-operative agreements with 700 universities in North America, South America and Europe.

Countries involved in the network include Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Spain, Uruguay and Venezuela.