University awarded share of £8.2M to widen access and increase diversity within digital sector

  7th February 2024

University of Gloucestershire has been awarded a share of £8.2 million in new funding to increase diversity and widen access within the UK digital sector, providing a larger pool of highly skilled graduates to address the skills gap.

With the digital skills shortage estimated to cost the UK economy £63 billion a year, the Office for Students (OfS) is funding up to 818 scholarships in Artificial Intelligence and data science to under-represented groups across 31 universities for the 2024-25 academic year.

The new scholarships – each worth up to £10,000 – are prioritised for women, black students, students registered disabled and those from low socioeconomic backgrounds, to increase diversity in the technology sector, with these groups currently significantly underrepresented.

The University, which offers a range of digital courses developed with partners from the sector, has been awarded funding for scholarships for its MSc in Data Science for the 2024-25 academic year. You can read more about this story on the University website.