Fifteen Queen’s University Belfast students will make history this week as they head to the USA as the first group to benefit from the Clinton Scholarship Fund.

The initiative was launched in April 2023 in honour of President Clinton and the University Chancellor Secretary Hillary Clinton as part of the GFA 25 conference and the students will be travelling to universities in various parts of the US, including North Carolina and New York.

The scholarship is designed to remove financial barriers for local students to undertake study opportunities in the USA during their degree at Queen’s to broaden horizons and deliver wider opportunities.

The programme provides financial support for study exchanges at US partner universities, and on-campus programmes and networking with Queen’s alumni and professionals in New York.

 

Queen’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sir Ian Greer, said:

“We aim to develop our students as global citizens, equipping them with the skills to work internationally, and the opportunities to build a career locally, meeting the needs of key sectors and supporting growth of the economy in Northern Ireland.

“We believe it is important that local students who may not typically have access to international study, due to circumstance rather than ability, are given the same opportunity to participate. This principle is at the very core of the Clinton Scholarship Fund: providing opportunities, making real connections, and working together to build something bigger.”

Pro-Vice Chancellor for Global Engagement, Professor Margaret Topping, said:

“The Clinton Scholarship Fund was established with the generous support of our donors – without them, this life-changing opportunity simply wouldn’t be possible.

“The Scholarship Fund gives students the opportunity to spend anything from one week to one year in the United States. They might go and have career development opportunities, or they may study in one of our partner institutions in the US. But whatever they are doing, those experiences are life-changing, they’re horizon expanding, and they open up a whole new world of possibility for our students which they wouldn’t otherwise have.”

Kyle Jones, who studies International Relations and Conflict Studies and is heading to the University of North Carolina for a semester, said:

“Receiving the scholarship has allowed me to go somewhere I would never have been able to go. I’m the first person in my family to go to university never mind travel to the US, so without the scholarship funding, it wouldn’t be possible. People like me, with my background, don’t get these opportunities often.

Criminology student Aoife Press says:

“I come from a low-income background so without this scholarship, I wouldn’t have been able to afford it. Being able to have this opportunity is such a blessing. I’d love to thank the donors – I would not be able to have this opportunity to broaden my horizons without them.”

Student Peter Coran added:

“The Clinton Scholarship will have a huge impact on my future career prospects. It’s a fantastic opportunity to visit the States and meet with former Queen’s alumni and other professionals and see how they’ve got there, what their story is and how they’ve developed over time.”

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