Inspiring Futures Fund 2025–2026

• Part-time or full-time students following University of Suffolk courses
• Studying in the following locations: Ipswich, East Coast College or Suffolk New College
• Undergraduate and Masters students, but not PhD
• Classed as home or international
• Students who have not already received the full IFF Bursary during the same academic year.

nB:

• Priority may be given to students who have not received funding in previous academic years.
• Students who are not up to date with their academic fee payment schedule will not be eligible to apply.

Work Experience...

Will help you learn
Experimenting with different types of experiences will help you to get to know more about your likes, dislikes, values, priorities, and strengths as well as to learn more about different types of work to help you to make good decisions about your career. The more experiences you’ve had, the more learning and development that will happen as a result.

Is a safe place to experiment
You can invest your time volunteering or working in part-time roles and summer jobs as a chance to try new things and to road-test a career option.

Could be evidence of your passion
You can show that you are genuinely interested in that area of work. A great thing to put on your CV when you start to apply for graduate jobs.

Can help to get you connected
Work experience could put you next to the person that will put you in the right direction in terms of possible roles you can apply for.

Makes you more successful in applications and interviews
Applicants with work experience outperform those with no work experience. Employers will ask questions about your work experience, knowledge, and interest in the job. They are looking for clear examples and evidence of this.

 

If an activity is connected with your future career development, it will be considered, here are a few examples of the types of activities that have previously been supported: 

• Extracurricular work experience, insight days, internships, volunteering
• Attending interviews or assessment centres
• Attending relevant summer schools
• Relevant training courses
• Attending relevant conferences or events
• Running or taking part in a relevant research project
• If you’re not sure your chosen activity is eligible, please contact the CEE team via Minerva (University of Suffolk students) or by emailing inspiringfuturesfund@uos.ac.uk (East Coast College or Suffolk New College)

 

What expenses can the Inspiring Futures Fund support?

The IFF can help with costs to enable participation in the above activities which could include:

• Reasonable travel costs to/from the activity (In the UK or Overseas)
  • nB: Any Taxi/Uber use needs specific prior approval.
• Medical Requirements/Vaccinations
• Insurance
• Visa/Permit
• Living costs and utilities bills connected with the activity
• Accommodation associated with the activity
• Professional clothing required for the activity
• Dependent care costs (see below)
  • nB: Dependent care costs are those associated to costs incurred to find suitable support and care for children or dependent relatives during the activity. You will need to provide evidence of the provider and their applicable certifications e.g. OFSTED registration if an IFF payment is contributing towards childcare. Please contact the CEE Team via Minerva or by emailing inspiringfuturesfund@uos.ac.uk for further details if you have any questions.

Exclusions:

The work experience must not:

• Be an activity organised by the University eg trips or elective placements.
• Form part of a degree programme if mandatory e.g. mandatory work-based learning modules and those undertaking professional practice placements within Health and Professional courses.
• Exceed 16 hours per week term time, or above 40 hours per week during holiday periods (and for those with a Tier 4 visa, do not exceed the working hour allowance set out within your visa).
• Promote or endorse illegal activity.
• Be immoral, unethical, offensive, or otherwise detrimental to the University’s reputation or interests.
• Relate to a pyramid, multi-level marketing or similar style selling scheme.
• Represent an undue health and safety risk.
• Involve writing or sharing academic related material for use by other students.

The University will assess the suitability of the Activity as part of the application process and its decision is final. Activities that the University deems ineligible or unsuitable will not be supported; however, you will be signposted to relevant support services, including the CEE team, to support you in finding an alternative appropriate opportunity.

Please note: Unpaid opportunities will only be supported if it can be evidenced by the employer that the placement does not contravene National Minimum Wage regulations. The University of Suffolk Careers and Employability Team do not endorse unpaid opportunities that may contravene National Minimum Wage regulations and would urge students considering unpaid opportunities to contact the Careers, Employability and Enterprise team to discuss in further detail. Further information about unpaid work experience and your rights can be found on TARGETjobs.

The Application Process

Make sure that you follow ALL the steps below to increase your chances of success.

• Before completing the application form, ensure you have read and understood the Inspiring Futures Fund ‘Terms & Conditions’ as they outline your responsibilities should you be awarded funding.
• Ensure you will be able to provide all the required information within the time frames.
• Complete the online application for via Microsoft Forms here
• Use the budget planner to provide a breakdown of the amount of funds required, including evidence of why you have requested the specific amount of funds - Download Budget Template here.
• Upload your supporting documentation via Minerva (UOS students) or by emailing inspiringfuturesfund@uos.ac.uk (Suffolk New College or East Coast College) within 14 days of completing your online form.

What supporting documentation do you need to provide?

• Your current CV (if you don’t have one, you can create one easily using CV Builder in FutureMe).
• Evidence of your “Activity” such as a signed letter from your employer, contract of employment, course/conference booking confirmation etc.
• Job description from your employer (including dates/hours of work experience) where applicable.
  • If you are in the process of applying for an opportunity and need confirmation that you will be allocated funding before being able to commit, please submit the job advert, AND receipt of your application from the employer.
• For training courses, research projects or other activities please outline briefly why this activity will benefit your career development or employability. Please also include a reference from your course tutor stating how important it is for you to do it. Regarding the topic of the training course, your tutor must clearly state that it is not part of your degree programme.
• Completed Budget Planner
• Any receipts / order confirmations
• If you request payments for travel mileage you will be paid in line with government recommendations currently calculated at 45p per mile for cars/vans, 24p per mile for motorcycles.

How do we assess eligibility of an activity?

• Have you sourced/secured the activity yourself?
• Does it contribute to your personal development?
• Does it support your future Career aspirations?
• Does it help you develop specific skills required for your chosen career?
• Does it enhance your employability?
• Can it be completed by the end of the current academic year (31^st July)
  • If the activity cannot be completed by 31^st July, this must be clarified in the application so that consideration can be given to this on a case-by-case basis.
• Is the activity with a reputable organisation?

The Inspiring Futures Fund is awarded on a competitive, first come first served basis, assessed against the strength of the information provided in the application form (see “How to Apply” below), until the allocated funding for the Inspiring Futures Fund has been exhausted. There is no guarantee that an application will be successful or that you will receive the full amount requested.

Each year there are 2-3 ‘waves’ of funding – if you are unsuccessful with one application, you may apply again during the same year if your application is eligible and you simply missed out because the application came in later than other applications.

Below you can find the processing times for incoming applications.

	Opening Date	Closing Date	Latest decision date
Wave 1	05/01/2026	15/02/2026	28/02/2026
Wave 2	01/03/2026	30/04/2026	15/05/2026

Applications will be reviewed regularly and students will be contacted with the outcome of their completed application as quickly as possible. If all funds are allocated, the fund may close earlier than the dates stated above. 

Students should ensure that all supporting documentation is submitted promptly (within a maximum of 14 days after submitting the application) to ensure that a decision can be reached within the timelines above. 

All funds ideally need to be disbursed by 31st July, if an activity may require payments after 31st July, this needs to be stated clearly in the application and will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Please note; we cannot guarantee that payments will be made after this date and you should take this into account when planning your activity. For those in their final year of study, payments cannot be made after 31st July.

Following the application process

• Applications will be assessed on a regular basis by members of Careers, Employability and Enterprise Team and/or Student Life Team, to assess which applications should proceed to the next stage.
• Students are updated with the outcome and, if successful, are invited to an assessment appointment.
• Further progress appointments may be arranged if necessary, to issue further payments, and return receipts and evidence of expenditure.

What happens if I am successful with my application?

Before funds are disbursed, you will be required to:

• Attend an assessment appointment to discuss your application including the terms of the agreement and payment process.
• Sign the Bursary Agreement (“Agreement”) which sets out the terms of the funding, including the expectations of you, the student, and us, the University.
• Complete a Bank Details Form to enable the University to transfer the agreed funding amount to your nominated bank account.
• Provide original receipts as evidence of how the fund has been spent according to the timescales set out between the University and the student in the Bursary Agreement.

 Expectations of IFF recipients after you have completed your activity

• Your Agreement will set out some of the specific requirements for your chosen activity.
• As a recipient of an IFF Bursary you will be required to submit a case study explaining how the work experience has benefited you, your personal development, and your employability.
• Those who do not complete this may be asked to return the Bursary.

The purpose of this section is to help you plan out a comprehensive budget for the IFF bursary. There are two parts of the budget template:

1. Budget costing overview
2. Detailed budget evidence.

Please ensure you use the budget template document to help compile your supporting evidence.

The table will allow you to identify individual costs associated with the work experience or other (e.g. accommodation costs, training course). The budget evidence section will allow you to document your budget figures (e.g. a screenshot from a website showing the accommodation cost). You should insert all the costs you will incur as a result of going on your work experience or internship opportunity in your application, even if you are not claiming for them all.

If your work experience is yet to be confirmed, please provide estimates of what the costs may be. You can confirm/adjust these costs at a later stage. For example, if you know the approximate location and length of the work experience, please provide an estimate of costs based on this and include a note explaining that is based on estimates only. These estimates will still need to be supported by evidence from your research into what the costs are likely to be.

If you will be receiving a salary for your activity, you can still apply for an Inspiring Futures Fund bursary as we recognise that some opportunities come with up front costs - such as travel expenses for interview, professional clothes etc. Or sometimes the salary or stipend does not cover all the costs associated with an activity. You must include the total salary and/or allowances you expect to receive. You may then apply for an Inspiring Futures Fund to contribute towards any remaining costs.

You will need to provide supporting evidence by completing and submitting your completed budget template (please ensure you add your name and student ID number). In addition to the evidence, you should also include any calculations within your budget template to demonstrate how costs were identified. This is especially important when the evidence doesn’t directly match the figures entered. When submitting your budget template please make sure it is clear what information we should be referring to and which cost it is relevant to. In the past students have included entire documents or provided website addresses with no accompanying evidence from them.

Where costs in your budget or supporting evidence are shown in a foreign currency, you must also provide a conversion demonstrating the approximate costs in pounds sterling for each individual expense along with the exchange rate used. 

Failure to supply comprehensive budget information and evidence is likely to impact your application and may either result in your application being rejected, or in a delay to your bursary payment.

Check out the links below and read more about students who have been awarded an Inspiring Futures Fund on their experience and how it support thier career aspirations.

• “Having financial support from the bursary team of £150 towards the training enabled me to commit to a four-day week course” Hannah McCarthy
• “No-one should miss out on ANY opportunities due to their socioeconomic status, disabilities, gender identity, race, or any other underrepresented background” Carrie-Anne Chapman
• “Applying for the Inspiring Futures Fund could offer a fantastic opportunity to develop specific skills in a step towards your desired career” Scarlett Moloney
• “It has changed my perspective of life and healthcare entirely. It has made me a better person by far, not only personally but professionally” Kara Wilkinson
• "This residency was the best experience of both my academic career, and my personal life" Ellen Freeman