THE UNIVERSITY of Edinburgh has announced their first LGBT+ scholarship, which includes the first LGBT+ masters scholarships in Scotland.
The scholarships are the first home-grown initiative of their kind supporting UK, EU and international students identifying as LGBT+ or as community allies.
The scholarships were announced earlier this month as part of the universities commemoration of LGBT+ history month.
The MBA and MSc business initiatives are a first for Scotland, and second only in the UK to an MBA at Cambridge University.
The only other LGBT+ scholarship in Scotland is in tourism and X at Queen Margaret University.
Edinburgh University partnered with community interest company Somewhere EDI to create the three pioneering LGBT+ masters scholarships.
Somewhere EDI is a new Edinburgh-based social enterprise championing LGBT+ visibility, diversity and inclusion in business and cultural spaces.
In the case of the MBA, the successful candidate will benefit from mentorship and business development opportunities with Somewhere EDI
The Somewhere EDI MBA LGBT+ Scholarshipand two Positive Action for LGBT+ MSc Scholarshipsare open for 2019 applicants and offer a £10k bursary to towards university fees.
Dr Peter Flett, Director of MBA programmes at the University of Edinburgh Business School, said: “Our scholarship offer and this unique partnership with Somewhere combines to create impactful inclusive business opportunities for the LGBT+ community.
“By bringing her research to us through Interface, Kathryn has enabled us to co-create this pioneering active inclusion initiative.”
Somewhere’s founder Kathryn Pierce is said to have addressed a major gap LGBT+ entrepreneurship research with a new study completed as part of her Master of Enterprise research degree at the University of Manchester.
Speaking today, Kathryn said:“It is time for bolder steps towards championing LGBT+ people in every walk of life, and the world of enterprise and entrepreneurship in particular.
“Running your own business is a risky undertaking at the best of times, but LGBT+ people experience greater personal risks than others, simply for being who they are.
“As well as supporting the economic case for entrepreneurship, this new initiative showcases the right to authenticity, challenging continuing social barriers to inclusion in business spaces.”
Applications for theMBA LGBT+ Scholarship and Mentoring Programme, and the Positive Action for LGBT+ MSc Scholarships are now open until 10 May 2019.
