If you’re studying on one of our NTU degree courses, a Rise bursary can support you to take on unpaid work experience opportunities outside of term time.
Whether you’re working short-term stints on one-off activities, for example a gig or an event, or longer-term spells like volunteering, as long they aren’t part of you course, you can claim funding.
How Rise works
The Rise Work Experience Fund provides eligible degree-students with a bursary up to £300 for work experience outside of London, or up to £400 for work experience in London. You can claim Rise funding if you are already in receipt of an NTU bursary, you are a care leaver, you have BTEC only entry qualifications, or if you have a disability. There are a few additional eligibility criteria so be sure to go and have a look at the full list and check your own eligibility on the Rise website.
Applying for a Rise bursary is quick and straightforward, and you can make a new claim each academic year. Brandon Campbell and Zuzanna Kowalczyk are some of the many students who have benefitted from Rise, find out about their experiences:
BSc (Hons) Event Production student, Brandon Campbell received Rise whilst working short term as a roadie on a James Blunt gig held at the Motorpoint Arena Nottingham. As part of the experience, James and his co-workers unloaded three lorries packed full of equipment and all of the essentials an artist needs whilst on tour, including amps, lighting, instruments, cabling, rigging, staging, food, toiletries etc. We caught up with Brandon to find out more about what he got up to:
“In the evening I went back to help pack down, we had to meet at the loading bay for 10pm ready for a 10:30 finish. As soon as 10:30 hit, James and his band came off the stage and there I was, walking straight onto the stage in front of everyone, ready to take down microphones and mic stands, it felt like my rockstar moment!”
This fantastic opportunity would have otherwise been unpaid, but thanks to Rise, Brandon was able to recoup enough money to cover his expenses. Asked how he found the process of applying for the Rise Work Experience Fund, Brandon said:
“The application process was easy to navigate, there was only a couple of questions that gave me some difficulty — I think it was the organisation name and contact when I had no idea what to write, but after talking to my teachers I sorted it out.”
BSc (Hons) Film Production Technology alumni, Zuzanna Kowalczyk volunteered at Notts TV on a long-term basis whilst studying on her course. During her time spent supporting the team, she picked up lots of hands-on experience in television production and broadcasting. Zuzanna worked in various roles, from camera operating, to lighting, and pan tilt zoom camera operation across many Notts TV shows, including ‘Team Talk’, ‘Book Club’, and ‘Notts Debate’. When we spoke to Zuzanna, she was keen to tell us how much she benefitted from the opportunity:
“From my volunteering I’ve taken away some really valuable experience working on a live TV set. I also got IMDb credits that can be really useful when I look for a job in the industry.
“Getting any experience in TV or film is tough because it’s quite a closed industry. It’s as much about who you know as what you know, and for someone like me, an international student coming to the UK from Poland, I’ve found it hard to network and get into the industry.
“That’s why my experience with Notts TV is so important to me. I’ve also gained great confidence in my own work ethic, because everyone was happy to have me on set and noticed that I am a hard worker. I used to have doubts in my own abilities, but now I know that I can do it.”
Zuzanna applied for the Rise bursary to help cover her expenses whilst volunteering for Notts TV. Expenses can range from travel costs, to clothing and footwear, accommodation and equipment. In Zuzanna’s case, her biggest expense was losing out on our hours in her part-time job, and so the Rise bursary helped to bridge the gap for her in wages.
Would you like to apply for funding to support you with work experience or a placement through one of our Confetti courses? Apply now for a Rise bursary with support from Confetti and NTU.
