94% of companies praised the quality of applicants for the UKESF Scholarship Scheme

The UKESF is delighted to report that, with the involvement of our sponsor companies, our Scholarships have continued to be successful this year. Read on for some highlights of the 2019/20 Scheme…

 

Employer Satisfaction

The UKESF’s relationship with sponsor companies is at the heart of the Scholarship Scheme, so as it expands it is reassuring to know that employer satisfaction remains exceptional high. In a recent survey[1]:

  • An amazing 94% of companies praised the quality of applicants for the UKESF Scheme;
  • Over 87% thought that the Scheme represented good value for money;
  • Our service was rated as either ‘Excellent’ or ‘Good’ by companies;
  • All sponsors would recommend the UKESF Scheme to another company.

High Quality Applicants

The UKESF now has 24 partner universities, from right across the UK. With these partners, we continue to attract high-quality students to the Scholarship Scheme. This year we received over 230 applications from undergraduates, with a noticeable increase in the percentage of female students applying; indeed, over a quarter (28%) of Scholarships were awarded to female students.

“We had a higher proportion of female applicants through the UKESF compared to our direct intern programme, which proved to be valuable to us.”

Successful Work Placements

Gaining experience though work placements is at the heart of the Scholarship Scheme. We had some great feedback on the value gained by students from their placements:

“I absolutely loved my placement, it was nothing like any job I have done before; it was intellectually stimulating, exciting and really fun.”

Supporting the Electronics Industry

Helping the industry tackle its skill shortage and encouraging more young people to pursue careers in Electronics is what the UKESF is all about:

  • Since we began, 276 UKESF Scholars have graduated;
  • Of these, over three quarters (76%) are employed by Electronics or Technology companies;
  • A further 17% are studying for a PhD or doing research at a university;
  • Almost two-thirds (64%) of graduated Scholars in employment work for a UKESF partner company.

External Awards

Graduated UKESF Scholars have continued to receive national recognition:

  • Electronics Weekly selected four former Scholars as part of their “BrightSparks” for 2019;
  • Two former Scholars won The IET prizes for outstanding academic achievement;
  • Emma Curati-Alasonatti (Southampton/Arm) was TechWorks’ Young Engineer for 2018/19.

Thank you to our university partners and sponsor companies for their support this year, and to our corporate sponsors: Arm, AWE, Dialog Semiconductor and Qualcomm. It is very much appreciated.

The UKESF hopes everyone is keeping safe and well, and we will be in touch over the summer to discuss participation in the Scholarship Scheme for the next academic year.

 

[1]              A survey undertaken in March/April 2020, with responses from 21 companies.

Return to Articles

Recent articles