Bonar Yarns awards prize and scholarship funds to Abertay University
One of Dundee’s longest-established companies is creating a new scholarship and a new student prize at Abertay University.
Bonar Yarns, which was founded in 1914 as a subsidiary of the already established Low and Bonar company and is now a world-leading manufacturer of synthetic grass and carpet fibres, is donating the awards to Abertay’s Dundee Business School to support students studying marketing and business.
The Bonar Yarns Scholarship, worth £1,250, will be awarded annually to a fourth-year undergraduate studying the BA (Hons) in Marketing and Business.
The award is open to UK students at Abertay and those who are the first in their family to attend university or who come from a low-income background will be particularly encouraged to apply.
The Bonar Yarns Prize, worth £150, will be awarded each year to the student with the best performance across their modules in the second year of a full-time BA (Hons) Marketing and Business degree.
Both prize and scholarship are expected to be awarded for the first time later this year. A selection panel a Bonar Yarns manager, an Abertay academic and the University’s student advisory team will award the scholarship, and the prize will feature in the University’s annual Prizegiving Ceremony.
Abertay marketing lecturer Dr Jason Turner said: “It is exciting to see students getting an opportunity to compete for a scholarship, which will not only assist them financially through their studies but also enhance their CV.
“The scholarship is a further step forward in our relationship with Bonar Yarns which began in 2014 with a student placement and has since developed into having a Marketing and Business graduate working for the company, a further placement student currently employed and a real world business assessment integrated into a marketing module. We look forward to this relationship continuing to flourish and thank Bonar Yarns for their support and encouragement of our students,” he added.
Sarah Stevenson, global marketing executive with Bonar Yarns, commented: “We’re absolutely thrilled to be able to support a local university such as Abertay, with both a scholarship opportunity and rewarding students work through a university prize.
“Bonar Yarns has also worked with Abertay University over the last six months to a year to provide Marketing and Business students with live business assessments. This helps students understand the requirements of a live business; as well as providing insight into our particular industry and target markets – something which we hope will broaden their horizons when they graduate, helping them to obtain employment.
“We look forward to working with Abertay University throughout the 2016/17 academic year.”
Sarah, who is herself a graduate of Abertay University, added: “Having been a student at Abertay myself, I fully understand that these opportunities mean a great deal whilst you’re working towards your degree – it provides further support and recognition for your hard work.
“Working with Bonar Yarns whilst I was completing my degree enabled me to gain a better understanding of working in a position/department, which was specifically related to marketing. It was a great opportunity that many students don’t always get, especially as I was able to obtain a full-time, permanent position after graduation.
“My advice to students today, never pass up an opportunity to work with local companies – you never know where it could take you. Although I’m based in Dundee, our business is global and I’ve been fortunate enough to work alongside our customers in Europe and the US; as well as being presented with opportunities to work with Low & Bonar, our parent company based in London.”
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Picture shows Dr Jason Turner (left) and Sarah Stevenson celebrating the scholarship and prize being funded for Abertay University by Bonar Yarns (March 2016)
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E: k.coe@abertay.ac.uk T: 01382 308452 M: 07850 904110
