Two leading UK defence, aerospace, and technology companies, Cobham and Ultra Electronics, have announced a scholarship programme for engineering undergraduates from underrepresented groups. The Cobham & Ultra Scholarship Programme is aimed at six universities, including Oxford, where £500,000 of the fund will be donated.
The scholarship pledges a total of £5 million to the six universities, seeking to support 500 students most in need of financial support over the lifetime of the fund. Over a hundred students starting in September 2023 will be receiving funding from the scholarship for each remaining year of their undergraduate studies.
The scholarship hopes to provide additional benefits by working with the engineering faculty to provide first-hand mentoring and guidance to those who request it. The newly merged company seeks to allow students who study a variety of engineering-based degrees to “explore work experience opportunities and even a year in industry.”
For Cobham & Ultra, this fund will constitute a continuing significant investment in “advancing defence capabilities and staying ahead of the ever-evolving threat.”
Cobham and Ultra Electronics work on technology and service innovation and mission-critical defence electronics respectively. The Chairman of the Board of Cobham and Ultra Electronics, Shonnel Malani, stated that “through this investment we are ensuring the UK maintains this defensive capability moving forward.”
This aligns with the continuation of the Formula 1 Engineering Scholarship Programme for undergraduates from non-privileged backgrounds. This currently provides four fully funded scholarships to students undertaking MEng in Engineering Science, with six further scholarships to be awarded until the 2025/6 academic year.
