Horizon Fund Opportunity Awards

At Staffordshire University, we place students at the heart of everything we do, and supporting the Horizon Fund, helps support every student with ambitions and aspirations to be the very best they can be, and take a step towards their brighter future. This is a belief that echoes across our connected community - with the many donations of gift, time, and opportunities, our students have experienced the generosity of our donors and have already achieved incredible things.

One-way students are supported via the Horizon fund is through Horizon Fund Opportunity Awards - including Employability Award, New Designers Opportunity Award, and Creative Opportunity Award.

Our Horizon Fund enables us to offer Opportunity Awards which empower students to seize the day and strive to do more than they ever thought possible. This fund provides life-changing awards to enhance the student experience and create opportunities above and beyond their study programme. 

Here are some examples of this fund in action!

Madrid

For Keith's PhD in Forensic Archaeology mass graves investigation, his thesis looked at forensic archaeological approaches in searching and identifying clandestine burials in Zimbabwe. 

He travelled to a conference in Madrid to present a paper on Zimbabwe democides to more than 3,000 academics. 

"The presentation will help enhance understanding of one of the most forgotten genocides that claimed over 20,000 lives in 1980's Zimbabwe.  It will assist in highlighting the level of research being undertaken at Staffordshire University and the associated expertise."  

Nepal

Nursing students Millie and Bethany travelled to Nepal to volunteer in children's wards and the emergency department at Pokhara Hospital.

The trip enhanced their clinical skills and provided a unique cultural experience whilst making a positive difference to the community in Nepal.

Channel Islands

Film, TV and Radio Studies students Chris and Kalvin visited Guernsey and Jersey as part of their radio documentary assignment based on the Nazi occupation of the Channel Islands during World War II.

"Because of the funding we were able to produce a fine piece of broadcast journalism. Any worries about travel and accommodation costs were put out of our minds and we were able to concentrate fully on our work and creativity." 


Atlanta

BSc Forensic Investigation student, Dani, travelled to Atlanta, Georgia. During her trip, she shadowed doctors whoa re conducting post-mortems, conducted two weeks' work experience in a medical examination bureau, and attended the Annual Conference in Forensic and Pediatric Pathology. 

"The aim of the trip was for me to get more experience in the field of pathology and medicine as well as put into practice elements of the learning from my degree. It has inspired me to push for the career I have dreamed of and pursue forensic pathology by going to medical school."


Moscow

Acting and Theatre Arts graduates Abigail and Hannah undertook a 2-week acting course at The International Demidov Summer School in Moscow.

"The fund has helped me develop my acting skills, enabling me to afford this experience and making it les stressful - I am very grateful."

Calgary

Szilvia received funding to enable her to attend the Congress of the International Society of Biomechanics in Calgary, Canada. She studied a PhD in Biomechanics and is co-author of a footwear study carried out at Staffordshire University, which will be presented at the conference by her professor, Dr Robert Needham. 

"It gave me the opportunity to meet researchers and build my network in the biomechanics research sector. To be able to attend this seminar and to be around all these amazing people meant everything to me." 


Nigeria

"I was privileged to receive an Opportunity Award from the University's Horizon Fund to help towards my travel expenses. This enabled me to travel to Nigeria to showcase at one of Africa's biggest music festivals. Appearing at that showcase opened a lot of doors for me as an artist, and I was invited back to the same festival in 2018 - this time as a paid artist. 

Thanks to this increased visibility, I have gone on to perform at several high-profile events, including performing for The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and his wife Meghan in July 2018."

- Lorraine

Dubai

"The Staffordshire University Horizons fund recently provided me with the opportunity to present my research into the application of Artificial Intelligence and Cyber Security to the Internet of Things at the IEEE Global Conference for Internet of Things in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. This has been an extremely valuable experience as part of my Master of Research Studies, allowing me to experience, first-hand, a global research conference.

The opportunity to present my research has built my confidence, allowing me to present my ideas to a global audience and gain insights that will help me to further refine my ongoing work at Staffordshire University. During the conference I had the opportunity to network with industry leaders, professors and students from the local region and further afield, forming connections with Yasar University (Turkey), University of Limerick (Ireland), University of Rostock (Germany) and RWTH Aachen University (Germany), who I plan to further collaborate with on future research ideas and papers.

Throughout the conference there were keynote presentations from Dubai University, Nile University, Google and IoT industry partners such as The Things Networks, providing insights into the current state-of-the-art challenges and solutions for smart cities. I was also able to attend a panel discussion on Artificial Intelligence, Cyber Security and Internet-of-Things where interesting themes were discussed such as moral and ethical considerations in the development of AI methods and the need for greater leadership into pro-active resilience of secure IoT systems. These themes will provide an interesting context to my future research. Regional start-up companies from places such as Iran and Palestine, were also available to exhibit how they are realising the practical implementation of IoT from smart devices to improve quality of life Alzheimer sufferers and deaf individuals, to monitoring salinity of soil to provide valuable environment information to farmers to produce higher quality produce whilst conserving water.

Finally, my time in Dubai allowed me to experience the unique culture of the United Arab Emirates, experiencing local cuisine, dancing, architecture and excellent hospitality of the region. I was incredibly impressed by the optimism and forward-looking views of the academics, government and industry with their vision of building a thriving local economy and leading the global community with smart city ideas to provide better quality of life for citizens and achieving conservation goals."

- Chris

Colorado

Daniel was a student on the BSc (Hons) Sports Strength and Conditioning. During his studies, he completed a 7-week internship working as an assistant strength and conditioning coach in the UK. 

His opportunity award contributed towards his travel and accommodation costs, while he worked full-time with the men's and women's basketball teams and the women's volleyball team at the University of Colorado. 

"It was a really good experience, giving me an amazing opportunity to implement all the science-based and classroom learning I have undertaken, by working extensively with athletes. 

I've gained a huge amount of work experience - roughly 50 hours per week, as well as making contacts and securing a good reference."