The University of Sussex and Santander Universities are happy to announce the selection of the 10 winners of the Brighter Futures Grants initiative that took place during the autumn term.

In partnership with Santander Universities, we offered 10 prizes of £1,000 to current Sussex students. Undergraduates, postgraduates, full-time and part-time students were invited to take part in a prize draw that ran from 14 October to 5 December.

In December, 10 lucky winners were selected at random from a pool of over 1,100 participants. The prizes spread across multiple subject areas, with winners studying:

• International Development
• Law
• Politics
• Management
• Education
• Social Work and Social Care
• Engineering and Design
• and Psychology

What the winners said

With its no-strings-attached approach, the Brighter Future Grants programme aims to provide financial freedom and gives winners the flexibility to use the funds where they need them most.

Many of the winners have told us that they will use the prize money to pay for accommodation fees and living expenses so they can focus on their studies. Isabella Roffey who is completing a BA in Politics, shared with us how the prize money will help her focus on her final assessments:

“This grant will really help me in my final year of study as it's easy to feel a lot of anxiety about that time between submitting your dissertation and getting into the world of work. This will act as a safety net for me and has alleviated my concerns about finishing my time at Sussex, allowing me to focus my energies into my final year exams.

Long Shao, who is doing an MSc in Management, will use the prize money to buy a new iPad as the one he has no longer works properly and keeps on re-starting during class.

While others like Ozge Kiran, who is doing a LLM in International Commercial Law, or Martha Monica, who is completing an MA in Human Rights, plan to attend conferences and symposiums to enhance their academic studies and expand their contact network. Martha said:

“I plan to allocate the prize money for attending human rights-related conferences and seminars to expand my knowledge and network, ensuring I can contribute more effectively to promoting justice and equality after my studies. This award provides invaluable financial aid, allowing me to deepen my knowledge and develop my future career.”

Some of this year’s winners are international students, who have also been impacted by the increase in the cost of living. Elena López Cueto, who is studying a MA in Developmental Studies, explains how the prize money will help her ease her mind:

"Like many other international students, my dream of studying at the University of Sussex was conditioned to an economic amount. I have dedicated more time to applying for grants, scholarships, and prizes than people would believe. It was a big relief finding a programme with such a friendly and easy application process as the Santander Brighter Future Grants. Winning this prize will allow me to focus on what I came from another continent to do: studying instead of purely worrying about the next rent payment. I thank Santander UK for keeping investing in education across the UK."

More opportunities for Sussex students

Alongside the Brighter Futures Grants, our partnership with Santander Universities provides other initiatives to support your progress and success, like the Elevate grants to help kickstart student business ideas. We also keep you updated about national giveaways, like the chance to win one of 10 MacBook Air laptops starting today.

On top of this, by joining the Santander Open Academy you will be able to browse free on-demand learning content that can help support you in your studies, as well as apply for several free learning programmes run in partnership with world-leading educational institutions.

On the Student Hub, you can also find out about our initiatives to support you with your finances during your time at Sussex.