We did it! Over £36,000 raised through The Big Give.
We are delighted to announce that, thanks to the terrific support of our donors, we raised a grand total of £36,518.25 including matched funding and Gift Aid.
The response to the campaign was overwhelmingly positive. Over 40 people donated, including local businesses and individual members of the community.
The money raised will go towards providing life-changing bursaries for Herefordshire-based individuals joining NMITE in 2023. These bursaries will enable us to attract a more diverse cohort of students and provide them with an opportunity to become work-ready, world-conscious engineers.
We look forward to offering these bursaries to three more local students in September 2023.
NMITE has been selected to participate in the Big Give Christmas Challenge, the UK’s largest match funding campaign.
Between the 29th November and the 6th December 2022, we will be raising money to provide life-changing bursaries to students from Herefordshire joining our degree programmes in September 2023. Every donation we receive during the campaign week will be matched.
"I cannot thank NMITE’s donors enough for what they have given me. I know first-hand that bursaries make a world of difference to any student, but especially for those who, like me, need a little extra support to get started."
Fin, Pioneer Cohort student and bursary recipient
Our generous donors have pledged a total of £15,000 which will be used to match public donations made to NMITE’s campaign during the Big Give Christmas Challenge.
This means that every donation we receive through our online Big Give fundraising page during the campaign week, up to £15,000, will be doubled.
Every penny of this funding will go towards providing bursaries for three Herefordshire-based students from disadvantaged backgrounds joining NMITE in September 2023.
These life-changing bursaries will open up NMITE’s engineering degree programmes to local people like Fin and Thomas, giving them the opportunity to become work-ready, world-conscious engineers.
If you would like to help us open up opportunities to future engineers like Fin and Thomas, please support NMITE during the Big Give Christmas Challenge. Your donation will be doubled and make even more of a difference to the people who will be finding solutions to the challenges we face today and in the future.
Meet Thomas
Hi, my name is Tom Reese. I’ve been at NMITE since September 2022 and am currently studying for a Masters in Integrated Engineering
I have lived in Herefordshire all my life, working on my parents’ farm and then as a pipe-fitter straight out of school. I spent several years learning engineering skills from the ground up and quickly progressed to a commissioning engineer, working with global commercial refrigeration companies. I gained a wide range of engineering experience, from on-site installation and commissioning of HVAC systems to the manufacture of electric skateboards.
After 10 years of working in industry, however, I realised that I needed to improve my engineering qualifications and skillset, so I decided to return to education to further my knowledge. I was drawn to NMITE because it’s different from traditional universities in terms of the admissions process and curriculum. NMITE looks for students who can demonstrate personal resilience, curiosity and passion, as well as academic capability. NMITE also welcomes those with life-long learning skills and values work-life experience. This makes NMITE perfect for me because of my experiential background, as I can turn a decade of hands-on work and life experience into an innovative career path with an MEng qualification.
I was fortunate enough to be awarded a significant bursary when I joined NMITE – without which I wouldn’t have been able to fully commit to my studies without facing financial hardship. It has given me the confidence, as a mature student, to continue to further define my skills and develop as an engineer.
As the country goes through ever-increasing costs of living, a bursary can provide the financial security for students to continue with their studies where otherwise not possible. It is my belief that, by donating to NMITE’s Big Give campaign, you will be making a positive investment into the future of each student and, in turn, into a strong workforce of engineers within Herefordshire.
Meet Fin
I’m Fin and I’ve been studying at NMITE since September 2021. I am currently in my second year of my MEng Integrated Engineering degree.
When I left 6th Form I went straight to university, but in my final year I realised that I wasn’t happy with my chosen career pathway. Instead, I wanted to be an engineer.
While I was committed to pursuing a profession in engineering, I knew it would take many years to qualify. To begin with, I would have to gain an A-Level in Physics to get into an engineering degree programme. I would then have to spend several more years at university. As I wasn’t eligible for another student loan, I would have to study part-time and work to be able to pay for it – meaning it would take even longer. I was quite disheartened and wasn’t sure if it would be possible.
It was then that I discovered NMITE and realised that my dream of becoming an engineer was possible. Not only did they offer an accelerated Master’s degree in three years, they also didn’t require a Physics A-level, and they were local to me so I could live at home. All of this reduced the time and cost it would take to train to become an engineer.
Not only this, NMITE offered me a substantial bursary so I could afford to re-train without needing to work alongside my studies. This meant more to me than I can put into words, and I am so grateful for what I have received. The bursary was the difference between having to wait for years until I had saved enough money to get the degree I needed to become an engineer, and being able to start on my chosen career pathway straight away. It was the difference between having to spend all my free time working part-time, and being able to dedicate my full attention to my studies. It was the difference between an eight-year online Bachelor’s Degree, and a three-year, hands-on, in-person Master’s Degree. Because of my bursary I will be able to graduate earlier than I originally thought possible, having already worked alongside industry partners and on team projects. I can step into my chosen career and hit the ground running.
I cannot thank NMITE’s donors enough for what they have given me. I know first-hand that bursaries make a world of difference to any student, but especially for those who, like me, need a little extra support to get started.
Anyone who is able to support engineering students in Herefordshire by donating to the Big Give will be opening doors that may otherwise have remained closed. They may be people who wish to switch careers and can’t afford to re-train. They might not have the correct qualifications to study elsewhere. Or they may have other challenges that make studying away from home hard. Our community in Herefordshire is filled with amazing, capable people who face a variety of difficulties, whether lifelong or unexpected - but their backgrounds don’t define their ability. Their stories show strength and resilience, and that is exactly the kind of person we need in engineering.
