Two Sunderland students with a passion for engineering and education have been selected for this year’s Sir Tom Cowie Memorial Scholarship Awards receiving £10,000 each to support their academic studies.
Connor Dickinson and Katie Braid, who are studying the final year of their degrees at the University of Sunderland, have been announced as the winners of the award, which was set up in memory of the Wearside-born entrepreneur who died in 2012, aged 89.
Connor and Katie have both demonstrated outstanding commitment to their course despite having to work long hours part-time outside of their academic studies to support themselves financially.
For the first two years of his Mechanical Engineering degree Connor, 22, was juggling a supermarket job to help finance his studies. The scholarship eased financial pressures, and allowed him to concentrate all his efforts on his academic studies.
"The funding has enabled me to forget about 'work' completely ensuring all of my focus is toward my studies.
"It has also enabled me to engage further with group work - before this I spent my days off from Uni at work, meaning I was often unable to attend group work, or turned up late and had to leave early."
Winning the award has had another very positive benefit for Connor, "I did an industrial placement with 3M at their Aycliffe facility, and I have been offered a graduate role starting September 2017."
He added: “Engineering is all I have ever wanted to do, both my parents are engineers, I grew up with blueprints on the kitchen table and my family has a history of working in industries from shipbuilding to coalmining. I am also passionate about the North East, so I’m incredibly proud to study a degree at Sunderland and hope to give back to the community I live in one day.”
Principal Lecturer Dave Knapton, who acted as academic supervisor during Connor’s placement at 3M, said: “Connor adapted very quickly into his role as a junior engineer demonstrating a real flair and passion for the work he engaged in. He is highly thought of as a valued member of the team at 3M by his peers and supervisors making a significant contribution to the department.”