A new fund has been established to help students facing severe hardship because of coronavirus.
Aberdeen University has turned to its alumni to raise £100,000 to be distributed to those in need.
This sum will be match-funded, pound-for-pound up to £50,000, through a legacy donation.
The Covid-19 525 Bursary Fund has been created by the university’s development trust and will be used to support students in a number of difficult circumstances.
This includes those who are struggling to make ends meet through a lack of work or family income, or who would have been relying on savings from a summer job to allow them to join the university in September.
International students confined to their halls and unable to return home and learners with poor IT equipment preventing them from accessing online learning materials will also be supported.
Rob Donelson, the university’s executive director of advancement, said: “This has been a huge year for the university in lots of ways, not least because we are celebrating our 525th anniversary.
“One of our planned activities to mark the occasion had been the launch of a new spring/summer appeal to raise funds for 525 new student bursaries.
“With the current situation, however, and the fact that so many of our students are facing very difficult circumstances due to the pandemic, we have decided to bring this forward with the new appeal.”
To donate visit justgiving.com/campaign/abdncovid19fund
