Students to benefit from Kent-Santander partnership 18 September 2012, United Kingdom- A new partnership agreement between the University of Kent and Santander, through its Santander Universities Global Division, will support international scholarships and student mobility, as well as an employability programme designed to enhance student entrepreneurship.

1. Santander News Universities
Students to benefit from Kent-Santander partnership
18 September 2012, United Kingdom- A new partnership agreement between the University of Kent
and Santander, through its Santander Universities Global Division, will support international
scholarships and student mobility, as well as an employability programme designed to enhance student
entrepreneurship.
The agreement, through which Santander will donate £40k for 2012/13, was signed on 18 September
by the University’s Vice-Chancellor Professor Dame Julia M Goodfellow and Luis Juste, Director of
Santander Universities UK.
Santander has collaborated with universities for more than 15 years. Through its Santander Universities
Global Division, the bank supports the higher education sector in such areas as teaching and research,
international cooperation, knowledge and technology transfer, entrepreneurial initiatives, student
mobility and innovation. Santander Universities Global Division maintains a stable alliance with over
1,020 academic institutions from America, Asia and Europe. Santander Universities UK was established
in 2007.
Dame Julia said: ‘We encourage all our students to participate in our extensive range of student mobility
and entrepreneurship programmes. We also provide a broad range of scholarships. Santander’s
support of our activities in these areas is important to the University and I look forward to our
partnership.’
Luis Juste commented: ‘When it comes to internationalisation the University of Kent is an example to
follow by many UK and European universities. This became obvious already in the first talks we had
with this institution and, as a result, it took no time to decide we wanted Kent to be part of our network.
Their expertise and enthusiasm in areas such as entrepreneurship and research makes this university
tick all the boxes for Santander Universities”
Santander Universities UK representatives attending the signing included: John Hedges, Institutional
Relationship Director and Joe Walker, Divisional Managing Director.
University representatives included: Professor Keith Mander, Deputy Vice-Chancellor; Professor Alex
Hughes, Pro-Vice-Chancellor External; Alison Coles, Director of Development & Alumni Relations;
Stephen Wallis, Deputy Director of International Development; and Tom Ritchie, President of Kent
Union.
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Notes to Editors:
About the University of Kent
The University of Kent was established at Canterbury in 1965 and has now become known as the UK’s
European university, with students in Brussels and Paris as well as at its other Kent campuses at
Medway and Tonbridge. It has nearly 20,000 students, of which around 17,000 are undergraduates and
approaching 3,000 are postgraduates.
Santander Universities contact
Carlos Leira
Marketing and Communications, Santander Universities UK
E-mail: carlos.leira@santander.co.uk
Corporate website: www.santander.com/universities
Follow us on twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/bancosantander

2. The University has consistently been rated by its own students as one of the best universities in the UK
in the National Student Survey for the quality of its teaching and academic provision. The 2013
Guardian University Guide sees Kent ranked 22nd.
In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise, the University was placed 24th out of 159 participating
institutions in the UK for its world-leading research, while 97% of its academic staff work in schools or
centres where the research is rated as either internationally or nationally excellent.
In 2008, the University was awarded The Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education
for the work of its Kent Law Clinic.
The University’s strong European impact is reinforced by long-standing partnerships with more than 100
universities in Europe and it is the only UK university to have specialist postgraduate centres in Brussels
and Paris. The University has also developed relationships with many leading universities outside
Europe and in 2010 launched a new initiative to offer more scholarships to students from Hong Kong
and China.
The University is a major economic force in the South East, supporting innovation and enterprise across
the region. It is worth £0.6 billion to the economy of the South East, with its students contributing £211
million to that total. It also supports directly or indirectly almost 6,800 jobs in the South East.
For further information contact the Press Office at the University of Kent:
Tel: 01227 823100/823581
Email: PressOffice@kent.ac.uk
News releases can also be found at http://www.kent.ac.uk/news
University of Kent on Twitter: http://twitter.com/UniKent
About Santander Universities
Through its Santander Universities Global Division, Santander has collaborated with universities for
more than 15 years on a unique global initiative which distinguishes it from other national and
international banks and financial institutions.
The bank supports the Higher Education sector in such areas as teaching and research, international
cooperation, knowledge and technology transfer, entrepreneurial initiatives, student mobility and
innovation. Santander Universities Global Division maintains a stable alliance with over 1,020 academic
institutions from America, Asia and Europe.
This is a network where universities from all over the world can meet and engage in dialogue.
‘Santander Universities’ was introduced in the UK in 2007 and the bank is already collaborating with
over sixty British Universities and Higher Education Institutions, with agreements focused in promoting
international exchange, entrepreneurial activities and the mobility of students and researchers within the
network.
Santander Universities contact
Carlos Leira
Marketing and Communications, Santander Universities UK
E-mail: carlos.leira@santander.co.uk
Corporate website: www.santander.com/universities
Follow us on twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/bancosantander