Santander UK CEO comes to Queen’s
Ana Botín, CEO, Santander UK, spoke to more than 200 guests at a keynote address on the future of banking at Queen’s on 7 November. The lecture, staged in the University’s Riddel Hall campus and entitled ‘The Future of the UK Economy and the Role of Entrepreneurs’ was followed by a Q&A session with the CEO and a visit to the Santander branch in the Students’ Union.
Earlier Ms Botín met with the University’s Acting President and Vice-Chancellor, Professor James McElnay, who said: “Queen’s has been part of the Santander Universities network since 2008. Since then we have developed a very rewarding partnership with the Bank; in the past three years alone over 100 students and staff have directly benefited from Santander funding, scholarship support and employability projects.
“Our scholars profit immensely from the opportunities provided by study and research placements in the Santander Universities Network in the UK and overseas. Today’s keynote lecture by Ana Botín, CEO of Santander UK, is further evidence of this important and growing relationship.”
Santander, through its Universities Global Division, has been funding scholarships, travel grants, awards and entrepreneurial activities at Queen’s for nearly 6 years. The University is also receiving Santander support for part-funded internship opportunities with local SMEs, a number of Brazilian research awards, a Luso-Brazilian Studies lectureship, a schools essay writing and for the Degree Plus employability project.
In total, 69 UK universities have now signed agreements with Santander and the Bank has committed £7 million in 2013 to fund UK universities.
Santander Universities intern Megan Herron from Kilkeel, Co Down, who delivered the vote of thanks on behalf of her fellow students after the lecture, said: “We are privileged to have had such a prestigious speaker as Ms Botín, and someone who is such a strong role-model for women, with us at Queen’s today.
“Education is key to economic growth in Northern Ireland. I know that Santander Universities’ support for my University will help Queen’s to play its part in developing this corner of the UK economy and in nurturing future generations of entrepreneurs.”
Commenting after the lecture Ms Botin said: “Queen’s University Belfast is a key institution in Northern Ireland; a cradle of knowledge and research and the stepping-stone for students and entrepreneurs before they access the job market. At Santander we are proud to be partnering with a university of such high calibre and I am delighted to see that the support we provide has made such a difference to so many students.
“Through our partnership, the University has been able to strengthen its ties with other international counterparts and I have no doubt that this will be extremely beneficial not only to Queen’s but also to Belfast and Northern Ireland."
(L-R) Megan Herron, Ana Botin and Professor McElnay
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