European-based lending platform Spotcap announced on Monday the launch of its new fintech fellowship, which is geared towards aspiring graduate students. According to the online lender, the program will provide one student per academic year with a £8,000 stipend towards their studies.
While sharing details about the fintech fellowship, Niels Turfboer, managing director of Spotcap, stated:
“The rising cost of graduate studies, combined with the UK’s impending exit from the European Union, could create real challenges when it comes to ensuring a strong and healthy talent pipeline. We created the Spotcap Fellowship to raise awareness of these issues and encourage the UK fintech industry to get involved in attracting and supporting the development of talent.”
Devie Mohan, co-founder and CEO of Burnmark, a fintech research institute, joins the Fellowship’s judging panel, also commented:
“The UK government recognizes the need for fintech related skills and initiatives. Indeed, supporting the development of these skills was announced in the Spring Budget and Digital Strategy. As an industry, we should also step up and contribute. For the message to resonate, aspiring graduate students need to hear ‘we want you’ directly from fintech businesses as well.”
Applications are currently open and will close on July 31st. The panel will review applications on August 1st, and shortlisted candidates will be contacted on August 10th. Fellowship recipients will be announced on August 31st. To be eligible, those interested must have the following:
- An offer of admission to a master’s or MBA program at an accredited British university starting in September/October 2017
- A British citizen
- Achieved or expected to achieve a 2.1 or above in undergraduate degree
