A NEW University of Limerick scholarship, launched in conjunction with The Fidelis Partnership, will support students to thrive in the world of underwriting and insurance.
The new scholarship will see eight University of Limerick (UL) students given a sum of cash to support their education, as well as work experience placements and mentorship from those working within the Fidelis Partnership to help kickstart their careers in the reinsurance and speciality insurance markets.
Robert Kelly, CEO of Fidelis Ireland and UL graduate himself, said that the scholarship programme came out of the company’s positive experience of UL graduates and at a time when Fidelis Partnership founder Richard Brindle was looking to establish a scholarship programme.
“We’ve had a lot of success with Robert’s (Ford, UL lecturer) students. Currently, there are four placement students who have come into full-time roles after their internships with us and two more who are now permanent employees that came on as graduate placements, in addition to the four other UL alumni in the organisation,” Mr Kelly said.
“The quality of graduates in Ireland was one of the drivers for Fidelis’s investment in Ireland and why The Brindle Foundation and The Fidelis Partnership are investing in the scholarship and graduate programmes.”
The UL scholarships will be awarded to five students studying risk and insurance, one to a student of business studies or international business, and two to students of computer systems or computer science. Each student will receive €5,000 per year towards their studies, as well as ongoing mentorship from the Fidelis Partnership.
Seán Harty, deputy chief underwriting officer with the Fidelis Partnership, said that the financial aspect to the scholarship aims to help students focus on their studies without the pressure of having to work outside of college.
Robert Ford, lecturer in risk and insurance at UL, added that the scholarship scheme with an international insurance company is a vote of confidence in UL’s teaching.
“It just makes sense to us that insurance is an area that is so significant in in Ireland, so significant in London, and across the world, yet we’re the only ones doing it. And have the affirmation from companies like The Fidelis Partnership, who are leaders in that area, to affirm that what we’re doing is the right thing,” Mr Ford said.
The eight successful students for this year’s scholarship will receive their awards on the UL campus on November 21.
