Opportunities for Young Engineers: Arkwright Scholarship

An engineering diploma opens up many opportunities for the graduate, but only on the condition that they plan and direct their career path correctly. Today’s labor market poses many challenges to graduates. One of them is the need to develop in several directions at the same time. Do you want to take care of your career before going to college and improve leadership skills? Explore one of the most prestigious scholarship schemes in the UK: the Arkwright Engineering Scholarship.

What is the Arkwright Engineering Scholarship?

The Arkwright Engineering Scholarships programme has a long history as scholarships have been awarded since 1991. The purpose of this award is to support through financial help and career planning or/and mentoring talented students who want to develop their leadership skills, become future leaders of the industry and pursue their dreams achieving engineering careers. Arkwright Scholarships are fully funded thanks to the generosity of corporations, universities, charitable trusts, government organisations and individual donors.

Who can apply for the Arkwright Scholarship?

The engineering scholarships are granted to diligent students who are 15/16 years old but the selection process is described as very rigorous. The scholarships provide support to the students during their A levels, Scottish Highers, or equivalent qualifications. See if you’re eligible:

1. Firstly, it is a scholarship for students who are determined to pursue a career within the Engineering Profession.
2. When you apply, you must be in the school year in which you will sit your GCSEs, Scottish National 5s, International Baccalaureate Standards, BTEC level 2s or equivalent exams.
3. You must intend to stay at school or sixth form college for two years to study A levels, BTEC level 3 Diploma/Extended Diploma, Scottish Highers / Advanced Highers or the International Baccalaureate higher level.
4. Applicants must be certain that their studies will lead to acceptance by their chosen University or Higher Degree Apprenticeship provider for them to study Engineering. Therefore, unless studying for a BTEC Level 3 in Engineering, applicants must make a commitment to study at least one of the following subjects to A level (England, Wales & Northern Ireland), or Higher/Advanced Higher (Scotland): Physics, Computer Science, Maths, Design and Technology, Engineering Science.

Important note: In order to be eligible to apply for a scholarship, your school needs to be affiliated with the Arkwright Engineering Scholarships programme. If your school is not currently partnered with the programme, you can request your teacher to complete the school partnership form.

When should you apply for the Arkwright Engineering Scholarship?

If you already know that this scholarship is for you, prepare for the application period. The applications are open between September and January each year.

How to apply for the Arkwright Engineering Scholarships?

This scholarship is conisdered to have very rigorous selection process, but we are talking about one of if not the most prestigious scholarship scheme of its type in the UK. You must apply during Year 11 (England and Wales), S4 (Scotland), Year 12 (Northern Ireland). The Scholarship will be awarded as you begin Year 12 (England and Wales), S5 (Scotland), Year 13 (Northern Ireland) to study subjects which will prepare you for a university degree or higher-level apprenticeship and career in Engineering, computing or technical design.

The selection process consists of 3 stages:

1st stage: online application

At this stage, you will be asked to complete information about yourself and justify your motivations. In short: imagine that you are applying for a job and you have to prove that you are not only the best candidate, but also an above average personality.

You will be asked for information about subjects, expected grades, what interests you about engineering, what are your career aspirations, a practical engineering/technology curriculum project and a description of extra-curricular activities you take part in.

This part should be submitted by your teacher after adding his/her reference.

2nd stage: two-hour Arkwright Aptitude Exam

The examination evaluates your capacity to use your technical expertise in developing inventive solutions to real-life engineering challenges. You will be asked for ideas, this is not a test of specific knowledge. This two hour exam is taken in your school on the first Wednesday afternoon in February, and everyone takes the test at the same time under national examination regulations.

On the official website of the scholarship, you can read the past papers and see what questions have been asked in previous years.

-> https://www.arkwright.org.uk/how-to-apply/aptitude-exam

3rd stage: interview

If you manage to pass the two previous stages, you will be invited to an online interview lasting approximately 30 minutes, which takes place between April and May and which will mainly concern your curriculum project, which you presented at the first stage of application.

There are also two additional stages, but that’s just a formality for you.

4th stage: Matching the candidate with the organisation funding the Arkwright Scholarships

If you meet the Arkwright expectations between May and September they will match you to a sponsoring organisation which will enable them to award you an Arkwright Engineering Scholarship.

Every Scholarship is sponsored by a donor. It can be a commercial company, government organisation or even a private person. This means that support is offered in various different ways.

5th stage: Ceremony

The Arkwright Engineering Scholarships are awarded at prestigious Awards Ceremonies in London (three ceremonies) and Edinburgh (one ceremony). This is your opportunity to celebrate in the presence of family, friends, sponsors and high-profile engineering industry representatives. During the ceremony, scholarships are officially awarded to each of the winners on stage.

Is there any cost of applying for the Arkwright Engineering Scholarship?

On the website of the scholarship they mention a £42.00 administration fee payable by April, for each student application.

How many Arkwright Scholarships are awarded each year?

About 400 engineering scholarships are awarded annually, but due to the fact that the scholarship is based on donations from professional institutions, they do not have a specific number of winners, nor do they know how many people will qualify for a scholarship in a given year.

What are the financial benefits of the Arkwright Scholarship?

Being an Arkwright Scholar you get £600 annualy of personal financial award that you can use for your own development. Except the money you get valuable hands-on experience, support for a curriculum project and a personal mentor who can help with studies and career planning. Your school gets £400 that has to be used for equipment or teacher training to enhance the delivery of STEM subjects. This prestigious scholarship scheme last for the two year’s of a student’s A levels, Scottish Advanced Highers or International Baccalaureate, from 1st September in year 1 to 31st August in year 2.

This UK engineering scholarship is not just a financial allowance. They also offer mentoring and various events organised by partner companies and universities such as Connect Days aimed at connecting scholars with real-world engineering organisations

Source: arkwright.org.uk

Do you want to share what the rigorous selection process looks like for these and other UK scholarships at your school? Maybe it’s not as hard as it seems? Find it on gowork.uk and share your first-hand knowledge with us!