Yondr launches £27,000 Slough scholarship for STEM student

Yondr has launched a scholarship programme for a student from Slough, linked to the area around the company’s 100MW London campus.

The scholarship will provide GBP £27,000 to support a Slough-based student studying a digital infrastructure-related STEM subject in higher education. The bursary will be paid in instalments over the three- or four-year course of the student’s degree.

Alongside the funding, the recipient may also receive mentorship and internship support. The programme is part of Yondr’s wider work on community engagement and social value in the places where it operates.

The Slough award is the fourth scholarship programme introduced by the data centre developer, owner and operator, which already runs schemes in Northern Virginia, Toronto and Belfast.

Ross McConnell, VP Energy & Sustainability at Yondr, said: “Our goal is to be a welcome neighbour in each of our locations. We are also committed to developing the future skills our industry needs. Offering scholarship programmes combines those two aims, while fuelling social mobility by providing financial support and opportunity to a talented and ambitious student from a lower socio-economic background.

“Our scholarships are already supporting students in Northern Virginia, Toronto and Belfast, reflecting our broader investment in community value and developing future talent.”

Yondr linked the new programme to work it has carried out with Activate Learning Education Trust, which manages the Digital Futures Programme at several University Technical College institutions in the UK, including UTC Heathrow and UTC Reading, both near the Slough campus.

Previous schemes

Yondr’s first scholarship was launched in Belfast and focused on women in engineering. It was awarded through The School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Queens University Belfast to MEng Electrical and Electronic Engineering student Orla Quail.

In Northern Virginia, Yondr worked with the NOVA Educational Foundation and Northern Virginia Community College on a programme for five students enrolled in Engineering Technology or Data Centre Operations courses. In Toronto, it established a scholarship for applicants studying STEM-related undergraduate degrees at the University of Toronto, with annual admission awards of USD $5,000 from a total commitment of USD $25,000.

The latest announcement comes as Yondr nears completion of its third data centre on the 100MW London campus in Slough. The scholarship was presented as part of the company’s local investment alongside its operating footprint.

Ciara Murray, Sustainability Manager at Yondr, said: “Data center development has the potential to transform communities and create opportunity for local people. Our scholarships are a vehicle to both invest in the locations where we operate and help build the local talent our sector needs.

“We are proud to have launched a new scholarship programme every year for the past four years. As we approach completion of our third data centre on our 100MW London campus, this latest scholarship highlights our ambition to grow and invest in the community alongside our operations. We look forward to reviewing the applications and informing our new scholar of their award.”