Bright futures for bursary recipients

Students celebrating success after being awarded significant bursaries to support their postgraduate studies in transport planning.

This year, three out of the four Brian Large Bursary Fund awards available went to School of Geography and Planning students. Cole Cornford, Davide Bertaggia and Aleena Khan will all begin their MSc in Transport and Planning this November.

In receiving their awards they have extended the School’s long and successful history of helping incoming students secure bursaries and funding to fulfil their academic ambitions.

The Brian Large Bursary Fund was established in 1990 in tribute to Brian Large, a Director of the MVA Group (transport planning consultants) with the ambition of enabling “students who have insufficient other funds to study full time without the need to take paid employment during normal university study hours”. They are awarded to continue Brian’s work supporting the professional and skills development of those in the early stages of their careers and ensure eligible students can complete their studies in the field of transport and planning.

All three bursary recipients were proud and grateful of the funding and eagerly looking forward to beginning their studies this autumn.

Recognised for excellence

The MSc in Transport and Planning is one of the School’s flagship postgraduate programmes, highly respected for its research-led teaching and accredited by the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) as a 'specialist' master’s programme and the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation (CIHT).

Programme Director, Dr Dimitris Potoglou, said: “For three out of the four Brian Large bursaries awarded this year to go to our students is wonderful news. It’s a testament to their knowledge, abilities and commitment to advance the field of transport and planning practice and scholarship. It’s also a welcome endorsement of the quality and rigour of our programme.

“I offer my congratulations to Cole, Davide and Aleena. While this year will be different in many ways, I’m as eager as always to get the academic year underway and to work with them, and their classmates.”

Aleena, Cole and Davide recently completed their undergraduate studies at the School, graduating from the BSc Urban Planning and Development programme.