Our CSM Officer, Minna Ellis, has worked with Central Saint Martins to deliver 10 bursaries to CSM students to support sustainable final show projects!

Each bursary is worth £100 and is aimed to support students on undergraduate and postgraduate courses preparing for their final shows. We asked that all applicants aligned with our value of sustainability: each applicant needed to show how they could re-use their materials, whether they'd sourced from sustainable companies, and how they could spend the money as sustainably as possible. After receiving applications from students across CSM, our selection panel (Minna Ellis, CSM Officer; Armani Sutherland, Student Communities Officer; and Zoe Campbell, Wellbeing and Liberation Coordinator) worked hard to select our 10 bursary recipients!

Minna said, "We had 43 fantastic applications and it was great to see students' interest in a new fund and I congratulate the 10 successful applicants. Hopefully though this fund, they are able to create daring, ambitious work that can be taken beyond the degree shows. I'm really excited to see what they've created!"

Speaking about the selection panel experience and the inspiration behind this project, Minna shared that "we wanted to have a variety of students buying new, but eco-friendly materials, students buying second-hand materials, and students hiring equipment, as well as a mix of students from different courses [at CSM]."

The project is part of our ongoing work this year to support our students through the cost-of-living crisis, which we found has had a huge impact across UAL this year. Our other work has included the creation and distribution of food parcels, art supply giveaways, lobbying the University for concrete change to support our students through these tough financial times, and much more. Check out our cost of living hub for more information.