Edinburgh students are eligible to apply for a grant of up to £250 for lost time during strikes

Edinburgh students who lost over 10 per cent of their scheduled teaching time in Semester Two due to the industrial action are eligible to apply for a grant for up to £250.

An email sent by Peter Mathieson, the Principal and Vice-Chancellor, made clear that the University had saved money during the strikes as a result of salary costs which were not incurred.

With these savings, they have decided that they want to expand on the student hardship funds for both UK and international students and will be establishing a new Student Opportunity Fund.

This is the email sent by Peter Mathieson

The email explains what the Student Hardship Funds are, and what the new Student Opportunity Fund is.

Student Hardship Funds

"We are increasing investment in the Student Discretionary and Hardship Funds, which provide students who face unexpected financial difficulty. This additional investment will meet existing unmet demand and ensure that support continues to be available to students in financial need. In addition, while we already offer free graduations to all our students, we are broadening the remit of the student hardship funds to cover hardship claims in relation to graduation gown hire".

He also went into more detail on the new fund the university is planning on introducing, and how that works.

Student Opportunity Fund

"We are establishing a new Student Opportunity Fund. If you are an undergraduate or postgraduate taught student who has lost over 10 per ent of your scheduled teaching in Semester Two you will be eligible to apply for a grant up to £250, to support future learning opportunities, whether those are in Edinburgh or elsewhere. For example you might wish to attend a conference or workshop, or take a short course in an area of interest. The fund will open today and will remain open for up to 12 months for all impacted students including those of you who will have graduated by the time of application."

Finally, Mathieson said: "I very much recognise that the period of industrial action was a challenging and disruptive time for many of you. The University has already put in place significant mitigating steps to ensure – while maintaining academic standards – that impacted students are not disadvantaged in exams of progressing to next year. I hope that these additional measure outlined above will provide a further way of supporting your learning in the future, they are open to all students – from Scotland, the rest of the UK and beyond."