Donor Stories: Santander Scholars Programme
The University of St Andrews has been a Santander partner university since 2010 and is one of 75 partner universities across the UK. Over the course of our 15-year partnership, Santander has donated over £1.7 million to the University, benefiting more than 400 students through its support of areas including education, entrepreneurship and employability.
In the 2022-2023 academic year, Eilidh Lucas (BSc 2025) from Dundee, was selected as one of 100 students across the UK to benefit from Santander’s support through the Santander Scholars Programme. Scholarships were awarded to students from underrepresented backgrounds with the aim of enabling skills growth, employability and social mobility.
Eilidh, who previously worked as an engineer, celebrated her graduation from St Andrews in July 2025 with a degree in Neuroscience, having first completed the Pathway to Science.
The Pathway is a programme at the University designed to support students from further education colleges across Scotland to transition to degree-level study. In addition to having attended a further education college, Pathway students must also have experienced barriers to accessing higher education, such as living in areas of deprivation, being care-experienced, or having family or caring commitments.
In the first semester of Eilidh’s second year at St Andrews, she found herself having to seriously consider whether she could afford to remain at university.
“The scholarship, without a doubt, allowed me to stay at university,” says Eilidh. “It helped me change my life.”
Eilidh made the most of her time at St Andrews, choosing modules that allowed her to pursue wider interests such as bacteriology. She also travelled to Ferrari Maranello in Italy with fellow Santander scholars to participate in a bespoke programme of activities including tours of the simulators, museum and Ferrari factory.
In addition to her studies, Eilidh has built her own small business as an artist making jewellery from foraged flowers and leaves.
“The scholarship also gave me the freedom to work on my jewellery and try to make a business out of it,” she explains. “So, the Santander Scholarship not only helped me achieve a degree but also helped me build a small business – two things I never dreamed possible five years ago.”
We are delighted to continue our partnership with Santander from September 2025 with support of £50,000 each year for the next two years, which will fund two postgraduate scholarships, in addition to entrepreneurship and employability awards.
“Our work together has provided significant benefits for students,” commented Jon Powell, Director of UK Partnerships, Santander Universities. “We’re pleased to continue to support St Andrews students and provide even more opportunities for them to enhance their educational and professional journeys.”
Find out more about Scholarships at St Andrews – one of our key projects in the Making Waves Campaign.