A £4.5m scholarship fund for undergraduates will encourage those who might be put off attending university by financial circumstances. 

Launched yesterday, the fund will also help build BP’s talent pipeline of people with vital STEM [science, technology, engineering and maths] skills, according to the energy giant’s UK graduate recruitment manager.

Emma Judge tells Recruiter that in the first year, the new programme will support 90 talented STEM undergraduates studying at nine UK universities to the tune of £5,000 each. However, as it is expanded over the next four years, the total value of the scholarship fund will grow to £4.5m.

Judge says she hopes that the programme will encourage those on the scholarship programme to apply for graduate and internship roles.

BP is committed to investing in tomorrow’s talent from all social backgrounds, and preparing students for long and successful careers – and we would like them to be in the energy sector,” says Judge.

At the same time, she says that the introduction of tuition fees in England in 2012, may also lead some students to take “a longer-term perspective” when considering what subject to study at university, to the potential benefit of companies looking for graduates with STEM skills such as BP. According to Judge, young people will be more inclined to consider their “return on investment” and “on opportunities” [the course provides] after graduation.

The programme has been open for two weeks, with 450 people already having registered their interest, says Judge.  

Main features of the programme: 

• Selection for the programme includes an entry form, psychometric tests and a face-to-face interview. This will allow BP to ‘fast-track’ those who apply to BP after graduating.

• The nine universities are Durham University, Imperial College London, University of Bath, University of Birmingham, University of Cambridge, University of Manchester, University of Nottingham, University of Oxford and University of Strathclyde.

• Discovery days – where those on the programme can learn more about BP.

• Networking with others on the programme and opportunities to shadow a BP intern for two to three days.

Judge says that next year BP plans to take on 220 graduates in the UK and 110 interns. So far she says the company has received around 6,500 applications for both.