Over 4 weeks in October and November, a team of dedicated student callers spoke to over 1200 alumni across the UK and the USA to raise money.  The team, led by student supervisors Juvayriyah Ikram (Maths, Third year), Adam Mathia (Actuarial Science, Third year) and Rosdip Rai (Biomedical Science, Third year), raised over £90,000 – a record breaking amount – which will help to build the Kent Opportunity Fund, which has raised over £4.5million since it was launched in 2012.  The Telephone Campaign takes place twice a year and will be recruiting student callers in the spring.

Student caller, Maria Burrell said; “I really enjoyed the opportunity to talk to real professionals, who have been through all the processes and experiences that are involved in the job market. I’ve definitely had some inspiration as to what career I’d like to have!”

We are overwhelmed by the generosity of our alumni community, and look forward to taking their donations forward.

The Kent Opportunity Fund was established to support Kent students; through scholarships, bursaries for financial hardship and grants to both extra-curricular projects, and sports projects.

The Alumni Postgraduate Research Scholarship has helped 23 exceptional graduates to date, do groundbreaking research, with projects in recent years contributing significantly to attempts to tackle UK gang culture and the development of a new cancer treatment. Hardship Bursaries are extremely important as students are facing tougher financial pressures. Many find it difficult to support themselves during their degrees and so Hardship Bursaries are available to students who are struggling financially and need immediate help to finish their studies.

The Student Projects Grant scheme and the Student Sport Grant scheme are open for applications now! Visit www.kent.ac.uk/giving/opportunityfund