Aberdeen students are beginning placements under Scotland's leading internship programme which will take them across the world.
They are part of Entrepreneurial Scotland’s Saltire Scholar programme which provides Scotland’s most talented students with the opportunity to work with leading organisations and work alongside global thought leaders and entrepreneurs.
Saltire Scholarships are open to undergraduate students from Scottish Universities in their penultimate year of study and are fully funded through supporters and donors of the Saltire Foundation charity, which aims to the next generation of business leaders. In addition to host company support, each Scholar’s university financially contribute to internships outside of Scotland which allows the programme to be fully-funded for each student taking part.
The Aberdeen cohort is made up of 11 students for 2016. Of these, seven will travel to the USA to take up their positions. Andrew Douglas, an economics student and Nicole Neilson, studying neuroscience with psychology, will travel to Boston to take up posts with leading companies in finance and life sciences respectively.
Also travelling to the United States are chemical engineering student Greig Adams and chemistry student Laura Kennedy who will both work in the Food and Drink sector in Lansing, Michigan and Larissa Findlay who will head to St Petersburg in Florida to undertake a role in the technology sector.
Internships in the not-for-profit sector are the destination for Lindsay Duncan, who studies English and Creative Writing and will go to Chicago, and Mark Sweeney, a politics and international relations student, who will go to New York.
Taking advantage of opportunities closer to home law student Melissa Frame will work in the property sector in Glasgow, economics and finance student Christopher Gilfillan has a role in finance in Livingston, Rachel Elliot, an economics and French student will work in life sciences in Montrose and Emily Carmichael, studying law and German, will go to Epsom in England for a retail role.
The Aberdeen students are part of the 144 Saltire Scholars on the 2016 internship scheme which drew a record 1,100 applicants.
Sandy Kennedy, Chief Executive of Entrepreneurial Scotland and the Saltire Foundation, said: “As part of Entrepreneurial Scotland, the Saltire Scholar programme continues to keep growing and keeps breaking records year on year. From entrepreneurial start-ups based in Silicon Valley to global corporates in Singapore, there is no other internship programme that identifies, connects and invests in Scotland’s potential in such a holistic way.”
Peter Fantom, Head of the University of Aberdeen Careers Service, commented: “We are delighted that these students have the opportunity to experience Saltire Foundation opportunities across the USA and UK. This presents an opportunity to develop professional networks and gain an insight into contemporary working practices, while acquiring the skills and experiences sought by graduate recruiters."