(AGENPARL) – MANCHESTER mar 25 aprile 2023

Poet and broadcaster Lemn Sissay OBE launched the Lemn Sissay Law Bursaries in 2017 intending to widen access by removing barriers to Law School undergraduate courses. 

The bursaries seek to address the under-representation of students of African and African Caribbean heritage who come from disadvantaged backgrounds at the University of Manchester Law School.

Each year, two first-year students will receive an annual award of £3,000 per year for the 3-year duration of the degree programme to support themselves during their undergraduate studies at the University of Manchester.

Previously, applicants needed to go through a formal application process to receive the bursary, this process has now been scrapped from 2023 onwards in an effort to further reduce access barriers as the process can be deterring. All eligible students will automatically be considered for one of these bursaries once enrolment in their degree programme has taken place: there is no personal statement, no minimum grades and no assessment procedure involved.

For students receiving the bursary, this financial help often makes a lasting difference to their ability to study in the best possible at their time at university. Jasmine Raza is one of the students who received the bursary in 2022, she reflects on the impact the bursary had on her: 
‘I work alongside my studies to provide for my family so having the bursary relieved some of that pressure, especially with the recent cost of living crisis. I live at home and commute to university from Oldham, the bursary helped pay for my bus pass which means I no longer have to worry about the cost of getting on campus to attend lectures or go to the library.’

Jasmine is already making the most of her time at the University: she is a member of the Bar and Advocacy Society and is also a student representative for the 1st Year Law students. While this role felt intimidating at first, she quickly grew more assured after the training she received and has found meaning in this opportunity to represent other students’ voices and impact change. 

The students who received the bursary got the opportunity to meet Lemn Sissay for an informal conversation during which he encouraged them to explore their heritage and to look for further opportunities like the bursary. Jasmine is already passing along his message to other children of African heritage she supports with their schoolwork when working as a mentor for Insight Mentoring alongside her studies.

The University of Manchester Law School hopes that facilitating access to the bursary will further motivate students of Black Heritage to register for a legal undergraduate degree and help tackle the disproportionately low numbers of Black African, Black Caribbean heritage people from socio-economically under-represented backgrounds in legal and criminal justice professions.

You can find more information about the bursary here.

Fonte/Source: https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/lemn-sissay-bursaries-help-challenge-access-barriers-to-university-for-students-of-black-heritage/