(Left to right) Maurice Uwayo, Jason McEvoy, Engineering Manager at Diageo, and Graham Roberts are pictured at Diageo’s Banbeath Bottling Plant in Leven.
Fife College students, Graham Roberts and Maurice Uwayo have been given a boost to their future careers thanks to engineering scholarships awarded by Diageo, a global leader in beverage alcohol.
Graham and Maurice attended a special presentation at the company’s Banbeath Bottling Plant in Leven accompanied by staff from Fife College earlier this week. The group were warmly welcomed to the plant and also given a tour by Diageo staff.
Graham and Maurice, who are both studying HND in Electrical Engineering at the College’s Glenrothes Campus, were then presented with their £1,000 scholarships by Jason McEvoy, Engineering Manager at Diageo.
The awards were made through the Adam Smith Foundation which looks after the College’s scholarship programme. This is the ninth year which Diageo has offered scholarships through the Foundation.
Graham, from Cardenden, plans to start applying for jobs when he finishes his HND. Graham said: “I was delighted to hear I had won the scholarship. The money is great as it will help me complete additional trade skills courses over the summer which will really add to my CV - I wouldn’t have been able to do that without the scholarship.
“The tour was great too. It was really interesting to see some of the PLC (programmable logic controller) work we do in class in a real work place, it just shows what is possible.”
Maurice, from Dundee, is due to start his engineering degree at Edinburgh Napier University later this year. Maurice said: “It was great to receive the scholarship from Diageo. I’m travelling into College from Dundee just now so the money will really help with my travel costs.
I will also be starting my degree in Edinburgh later this year so the funds will also help with moving costs and buying new materials for my course.”
Jason McEvoy, Engineering Manager at Diageo said: “We are delighted to support Fife College engineering students through the Adam Smith Foundation again this year. As a business, we are committed to the development of talented individuals and both Graham and Maurice have shown great dedication and commitment to their studies.
“It was a pleasure to meet the students and I hope that the Diageo scholarships awarded will help them both reach their full potential in the engineering industry.”
Stephen Ayton, Curriculum Manager for Mechanical and Automotive Engineering at the College’s Glenrothes Campus, also attended the tour and presentation. Stephen was also joined by Dougie Knox, Curriculum Manager for Mechanical and Electrical at the College’s Rosyth Campus and Kayleigh Ferguson, Mechanical Engineering Lecturer at the College’s Glenrothes Campus.
Stephen said: “I would like to thank Diageo for welcoming us and supporting our students by awarding these generous scholarships which will help them enormously in their future studies and careers.
“The financial award itself will come in very useful to both students to support them but what is even more valuable to the students is the recognition of a global business such as Diageo that they can add to their CVs.
“The tour was a fantastic opportunity for us all, especially the students, to see behind the scenes at the bottling plant, meet the staff and ask questions. I would like to thank Diageo for taking the time to welcome us and for their continued support.”
Supported by Fife College, The Adam Smith Foundation scholarship programme was created to support College students through the development of opportunities which help open doors and transform lives.
Through partnership with businesses, charitable trusts and individual donors, the Foundation has developed a Scholarship Programme which provides recognition, a financial award, and in some cases, work experience, internships and trips to support and encourage students to achieve their full potential.
For more information about The Adam Smith Foundation scholarship programme, visit the Scholarships page.
