ECS students on the trail of industrial success with UKESF Scholarships

Eight ECS students spent the summer working with some of the UK’s leading electronics employers after winning scholarships from the UK Electronics Skills Foundation (UKESF).

The UKESF is a collaboration between industry, universities and the public sector, which aims to promote the future of the UK electronics sector by addressing the threat of diminishing skills capability and specifically by securing a sustainable supply of high-quality industry-prepared students. The UKESF works at both school and university level to provide summer schools and a high-level scholarship programme that offers bursaries, mentoring and work placements.

The first scholarships were awarded earlier this year to students at the seven universities that are founding members of the UKESF, and ECS students did particularly well, with eight successful in the programme. This year the UKESF is extending its scholarships scheme with more bursaries and work placements on offer. The closing date for applications is 31 October 2011.

The ECS students who were awarded scholarships and work placements are: James Imber (Imagination Technologies); Matt Lokes (Imagination Technologies); Fergus Macgarry (Imagination Technologies); Adam Malpass (Dialog Semiconductor); Samuel Hipkin (ARM Ltd); Yannik Hopke (ARM Ltd); Matthew Warnes (ARM Ltd); and Thomas Dell (Aptina Imaging). The UKESF scholars also took part in a summer school (see photo).

Founding University partners of UKESF are: Southampton, Bristol, Cardiff, Imperial College London, Edinburgh, Surrey, and York.

Find out more about the Scholarship Scheme at http://www.ukesf.org/scholarship-scheme

Read Adam Malpass’s blog to find out about his summer in Japan: http://www.ecs.soton.ac.uk/blogs/adam_malpass.php

Read about Adam Malpass, Matt Lokes and Tom Dell on the UKESF website: http://www.ukesf.org/scholarship-scheme/scholars-profiles

“We fully support the aims of the UK Electronics Skills Foundation and value highly the opportunities created for students,” says Professor Neil White, Head of ECS-Electronics and Computer Science. “ECS has a long history of engagement and collaboration with UK industry and we are very pleased, not only that our students have done so well in the UKESF Scholarships programme, but also that we have the UK’s highest employability rating* for graduate employment of electronics students.”

*Unistats 2011: http://unistats.direct.gov.uk

For further information about this story contact Joyce Lewis; tel.+44(0)23 8059 5453.