The Strickland Scholarship is a prestigious annual competition organised by South West College in association with Strickland Tracks. It is designed for those who are interested in a career in engineering. The competition is aimed at Foundation Degree in Engineering students.
The Strickland Scholarship of £2,500 is offered to only four students each year, it enables students to have to have the opportunity to study at higher education level. The Scholarship has set criteria to meet before for students can enter the competition. The student must live within the South West Region of Northern Ireland and be undertaking a Foundation Degree of HND/C in Engineering. Only one scholarship will be paid per student and they must not have received a SWC Scholarship previously. This scholarship gives local students a good incentive to apply, as they have a good opportunity within the competition.
The applicants of the scholarship must demonstrate how they contribute positively to their local community whether it is through sports, working with church groups, voluntary work or organising events. Past successors of the scholarship have demonstrated their ability in organising events and their willingness to progress and learn at higher education. The students must also be a fee paying student on a foundation Degree or HND/C course in engineering at SWC.
John Moore, Deputy Head of Department of Technology, stated “Foundation Degree in Energy, Environment and Sustainability graduate, Greg Harkin, made a successful application and received the Strickland Scholarship. Greg graduated with a High Commendation in 2015 and now works for B9 Energy. In an email to myself last week Greg stated: "I most likely would not have been able to meet all my fees for the foundation degree without winning the Strickland Scholarship".
A current student Keelan Kelly, studying Ulster University Foundation Degree in Engineering, was a recently awarded the Strickland Scholarship for this year. Keelan found out about the scholarship through his lecturer Mark Mcguigan and applied. He commented “I thought the Strickland Scholarship would be very beneficial to me in my year of study, in terms of buying supplies and helping me with travel costs. The amount of money was very generous and not many scholarships offer that amount”. Keelan is currently deciding on his future, he is going to complete his Foundation Degree in Engineering and then he is considering whether to complete a full Degree in Electrical Engineering or work full time in the off shore wind turbine industry. Keelan’s future ambition is to progress to management within the engineering industry and maybe in the future go into a teaching role.
The South West College offer The Foundation Degree and now the new BSc (Hons.) Degree in Energy, Environment and Sustainability. John Moore, expressed “These are multi- and inter-disciplinary programmes encompassing practical and field-based aspects of environmental science; practical project based environmental engineering, environmental business entrepreneurship, and the principles and underpinning theory of sustainability and sustainable development. These programmes are suitable for individuals with a keen interest in the environment, sustainable energy solutions, sustainable resource and waste management, and sustainable rural development. The core educational aims of the programme are designed to produce graduates who have a broad and practical knowledge of these subjects. The programme also places strong emphasis on professional development and employability."
For more information on the Strickland Scholarship or studying engineering, please visit www.swc.ac.uk/bursaries