Students sitting outside on campus

The Stirling Fund

The Stirling Fund exists to support Stirling’s student community by awarding small grants for activities that contribute to University life. So far, the Fund has supported a variety of projects including activities to enhance employability, excursions to learn about different cultures, new equipment to fund the development of student-run clubs and societies, and much more. Your support can help to ensure the fund continues to enhance the student experience both on and off campus.

Successful projects

Bolstered by generous donations from University of Stirling alumni, The Stirling Fund helps to support a wide range of student-led activities. To date, the Fund has enabled grants for hundreds of different projects, supporting around 16 every year since 2001 – from a TEDx conference on campus to the creation of a free legal clinic for students.

Take a closer look at the all of the projects The Stirling Fund and its supporters have helped to make possible below.

stirling fund logo

2020/21 projects

Stirling University Equestrian Home Matches

Grant is being used to support three team home matches.

Equestrian club

Taking Your Union to You

The Students' Union have purchased a gazebo with their grant to use at events.

Students' Union logo

Funding for new equipment for the Stirling University Women’s Rugby Football Club

The team are purchasing tackle bags with their grant.

Women's rugby club

Coaching for our Coaches

Women’s Hockey received a grant to fund coaching workshop courses for their members.

Women's hockey

Agility Ladders and Umpire Courses

Ladies’ Lacrosse have used their grant to purchase agility ladders and to fund members to complete umpire courses.

Lacrosse club

SUMHC Goalkeeper Kit

Men’s Hockey have purchased a new goalkeeper kit for their club with a grant.

Men's hockey club

Renewal of Club equipment in order to promote inclusivity and the introduction of the Women’s section within the club

The Cricket Club have used their grant to purchase specialised equipment and kit for female members to use during play.

Sports Union Inclusion Development project

Union President, Edd Keeler organised two courses; LEAP training and ‘Show Racism the Red Card’ for members of the Sports Union to attend with his grant.

Sports Union logo

Management Mondays

A group of Faculty Officers have been running free online sessions to aid socialisation during the COVID-19 pandemic with their grant.

Stirling Baseball Club Pitch Development

The Baseball Club are putting their grant towards construction costs of a new playing pitch.

Baseball club

Pay-it-forward student/graduate start-up boosters

The University’s Research, Innovation and Business Engagement are launching a new troubleshooting booster scheme to help start-ups contribute to economic recovery and student employability with their grant.

Pay it forward copy

Interdisciplinary Research Network 2021 Online Symposium

This grant is supporting a symposium inviting expertise in the area of interdisciplinary research for a mixture of presentations, skills workshops and networking. It offers a chance for PhD students to develop skills in conference planning and enhance their experience.

Int disc club

2019/20 projects

Nanairo Ekiden Japanese Sporting Event

Organising a traditional Japanese EKIDEN race to pass the spirit of the Olympics and Paralympics to all.

Nanairo Ekiden

Kayak Club

The purchasing of new spray decks for Kayak Polo.

Kayak

Stirling University Dance Club

Promoting and supporting the Dance Club to compete in competitions and perform an end-of-year showcase.

Dance

Creative Cottage

The creation of a comfortable and welcoming creative hub on campus to promote creativity and positive wellbeing.

Creative Cottage

The Scottish Parliament: A Graphic History

Assisting the Scottish Political Archive with the creation of a graphic history of the Scottish Parliament.

The scottish parliament - a graphic history

The Scots who fought fascism in the Spanish Civil War

The organisation of an exhibition to highlight the participation of young Scots in the Spanish Civil War.

The Scots who fought fascism in the Spanish Civil War

UoS fencing club

Providing a range of new equipment, including weapons, safety equipment and scoring devices.

Fencing

SUWHC -Save the Goalie

Acquiring a complete set of new goalkeeper equipment owned by the club.

Save the goalie

SUMHC - Level 1 Umpiring Award

Funding Umpiring qualifications for multiple members of the club.

Men's hockey

First Aid Training for Student Teachers

Funding First Aid Training for students specifically on Professional Education programmes.

First aid - teachers

University of Stirling Women’s Lacrosse Club Second Team

Aiding the starting of a second Women’s lacrosse team.

Lacrosse

University of Stirling Economics Conference

The organisation of a conference focused on the economics of climate change.

Economics

Disability Inclusion Training for Sports Union

Supporting the delivery of Disability Inclusion Training to committee members and coaches.

Disability

Year One – Supporting students’ transition to Alumni

A project in collaboration with Careers and Student Services to support students as they leave University.

Alumni

2018/19 projects

Specialised Equipment for Judo

Support from the Stirling Fund allowed the Judo Club to acquire new crash mats, allowing the club to offer safer training sessions and improve their competitive intensity.

Judo Club

 

Student Health Behaviours Over Time in Stirling

There is an established need for improvement in nurses’ health behaviours, with research with nursing students at the University of Stirling showing that they have low levels of physical activity and around a quarter currently smoke. With this in mind a proposal was submitted to the Stirling Fund to support a pilot of experiential learning methods for health behaviour change in undergraduate nursing students.

Their two objectives were:

  1. To improve student experience and learning
  2. To improve student’s health behaviours

The SHSH008 module teaches health promotion to undergraduate nurses in Year 2 and as part of this module in 2019, the faculty ran a pilot with up to 30 students of experiential learning methods. Students volunteered to be part of one of three groups:

  • walking (Step Count challenge)
  • running (Couch to 5K)
  • smoking cessation

The students were very enthusiastic and complimentary about Go-SHOTS, and really enjoyed the sessions.

Photo of members of the group

We Are One

The Sports Union's campaign #WeAreOne, which celebrated diversity at the University of Stirling, was supported by the Stirling Fund through the distribution of rainbow shoelaces. These were worn by students and staff to raise awareness of acceptance across campus.

The Sports Union is committed to continue to grow and engage with students who are not already physically active. Initiatives such as this are a great way to illustrate the inclusivity and welcoming nature of our clubs.

Stirling Sports Union

The Brig Digital Archive

Funding from Alumni went towards the Brig Digitalisation Project which is being worked on by the Brig editorial team and the University Archives. The aim is to digitise the full set of the first 25 years of the newspaper, creating a digital archive covering 1969-1994. This project will help preserve the original documents by reducing handling and create a new online resource.

The new digital resource will also be of direct benefit to the Brig editorial team who will have instant access to digitised content from the first 25 years of the newspaper. This material can be referred to / re-used in current features and provide an additional resource for online versions of Brig.

Brig newspapers

World Autism Day

The Students Union, and four autistic students from the University teamed up to hold two events in the Atrium and Macrobert Arts Centre for World Autism Day to raise awareness about the invisible illness and how it can impact student experience on campus. This was with thanks to the Stirling Fund for supporting these successful events and for supplying equipment which included sets of headphones.

The Stirling Autistic Support (SAS) group believe with the purchase of equipment it can be used in Freshers' Week events for students who might otherwise feel overwhelmed or too uncomfortable to tolerate the noise and sensory ‘overload’ that can be a barrier to participation.

Stirling Autistic Support logo

Dual Career Management Workshop for Student Athletes at the University of Stirling

The Dual Career Management Workshops for student athletes were successfully delivered on 24 and 31 May 2019 with funding from Alumni. The project was organised by Dr Hee Jung Hong and designed to enhance student athletes' experiences at Stirling.

Support from the Stirling Fund went towards providing workshops (including mentoring from retired Olympians) to assist student athletes to identify barriers, challenges, and support available to help them balance their academic and sporting commitments.

As Scotland's University for Sporting Excellence, it is crucial to improve student athletes’ experience at the University of Stirling. However, the concept of ‘Dual Career Management’ was not limited to student athletes but to a wider group of students who hold dual career (e.g. part time work-study or family care-study).

Dual Career Workshops leaflet image

Gender Identity Awareness Training for Outdoor Adventure Instructors

The Stirling Fund granted money to support a CPD training course designed to help Adventure Instructors on Gender Identity Awareness.

 

Student Coaching Initiative - Fencing Club

The Fencing Club was awarded money from the Stirling Fund to support experienced club members becoming coaches so that they could train current and future students taking up the sport. Support from the fund has benefitted the club greatly through helping members compete in the Stirling Sword fencing competition and at BUCS.

Fencing Club logo

African History conference

The University of Stirling Archives and Special Collections was delighted to present the UK premiere of the Malawi Lost History project's documentary on the 1967 Mwanza War. This was with thanks to the Stirling Fund which supported the conference and welcomed world class researchers to Stirling.

The event allowed for knowledge exchange, exhibition of current research, networking and a unique opportunity to watch the important documentary. Additionally for our students it was a fantastic opportunity for them to experience a conference setting - perhaps for the first time – and potentially present papers alongside world class researchers.

African History Conference

Sub-Aqua - Checking of Tanks

Thanks to the Stirling Fund the University of Stirling Sub-Aqua club were able to get their SCUBA diving cylinders serviced at the Edinburgh diving centre. The funding costs covered the costs of a service and safety check, which needs to be done regularly in order for them to be safe to dive with.

Shortly after receiving the funding the club went on two consecutive long weekend trips to Oban allowing their ocean divers to become qualified and give the sports divers progress with their training.

Sub Aqua club

Supporting Women's Football

The University's Women's Football Club received funding and were able to expand by operating three BUCS football teams, enabling all players time to play on the field. The Stirling Fund has also assisted with the costs for running the club and for reducing membership costs which has encouraged more female students with the opportunity to participate with increased accessibility.

As football is increasingly becoming a popular sport amongst women all around the world due to its increased recognition by the media and successes of more national teams (e.g. Scotland’s women’s national team), the club desires to be at the forefront of providing a place where more women can enjoy playing football, regardless of their ability and experience.

University of Stirling Women's Football Club

Stirling Language-Swap: Language and Cultural Exchange

Dr Fiona Barclay, Senior Lecturer in French and Francophone Studies was a successful Stirling Fund recipient who received a grant for her project - Stirling Language-Swap: Language and Cultural Exchange. Funding went towards the design, launch and promotion of Stirling Language-Swap, which is a micro-website that is currently being created with a design to:

  • equip students and staff with the cultural and linguistic skills required for effective internationalisation
  • facilitate language learning
  • help international students to integrate

Hosted on the University’s website, the micro-website will put individuals learning a language in contact with others who are native speakers of their target language, in order to facilitate conversational exchange. Users will be able to create a brief profile of themselves, offering conversation in their native language in return for one which they wanted to learn and, via private messaging, would be able to contact others in a similar position in order to meet for conversational exchange in an informal, face-to-face setting.

The micro-website would also be available to students planning to spend time in a different country and keen to learn about its culture (inc. administrative processes), even where they already speak the language.

Literature and Languages, Faculty of Arts and Humanities

Planting Change

Planting Change, a project by Students' Union's Environmental Development Coordinator, Matt Woodthorpe received funding from the Stirling Fund. The focus of the project was to plant varieties of perennial, hardy flowers such as Calendula, Ox-Eye Daisy and mint which allows the Green and Blue Space and Environmental Enterprise Society to dehydrate and use in student DIY cosmetics workshops.

By focusing on these types of plants Matt and his team of keen students have ensured that the funding made available to the project will have a lasting effect far beyond the funding year.

An additional advantage of this project is that it involves activities throughout the vast majority of the year. As such, students have been able to volunteer in the community garden through preparing, planting and maintaining the bed.

Funding will also be going towards student cosmetics workshops led by Environmental Enterprise Society and Environmental Projects Assistant.

Students working in the garden

Multicultural Book Project

The Multicultural Book Project was hosted by Library and Information Services with the aim to make the library collections more diverse, and to engage students and staff. The project promoted books by BAME (Black, Asian, Arabic and other minority Ethnic) authors, to widen the range of literature regarding different ethnic identities and cultural lives in the library.

This is an ongoing project where students can suggest books. Go to the website to suggest a book.

Multicultural Book Project

"Technology, Creativity and Transferrable Skills" - Digital Media Pitching Event

Dr Katherine Champion, Lecturer in Media and Communications received funding to host an event designed  to give Digital Media students the opportunity to develop important employability skills. The event allowed students to pitch to industry professionals, showcase their work and develop and cement new collaborative and innovative networks within Stirling's creative and digital media industry sector and beyond.

The event took place at the new hub of Creative Stirling and was attended by over 100 guests between students (including postgraduate students from the MSc Media Management and MSc Digital Media and Society) and representatives from small and medium size companies. Students had the opportunity to work on live briefs and apply what they had learned to real-world marketing scenarios.

After the event, there was a business brunch where students further had the opportunity to network with local companies, and during which time many new ideas and potential collaborations were discussed.

Katherine Champion

Get Active

The Stirling Fund supported the University of Stirling Sport Get Active programme which went towards introducing Hall Fitness and Strong Body, Strong Mind. The key objective of this project is to improve the accessibility of sport and fitness so a greater number of students can experience the benefits of physical activity, leading to improvements in personal and mental well-being.

Hall Fitness is an opportunity to access physical activity for free or at a low cost to ensure positive physical and mental well-being whilst at University. It’s also a great way to socialise and meet fellow students. Various fitness classes will be on offer including Pound Fitness, Zumba, Body Weight Circuits, Clubbercise and Yoga.

The Strong Body, Strong Mind initiative uses sport and fitness to improve the mental health of students that are referred from Student Support Services. The free six-week gym programme is specifically designed to improve mental health.

University of Stirling Sport logo

 

Stirling University Drama Society (SUDS) Performances at the Macrobert Arts Centre

In the past, SUDS have performed in the Playhouse of the MacRobert Arts Centre which has been ideal space for students to access and has kept venue costings to a minimum for the society. However, with construction well underway for Campus Central, the MacRobert Art Centre had to remove the option of groups performing in the Mainhouse. This has been the venue of choice for the society for a number of years due to costings and accessibility. SUDS applied to the Stirling Fund for financial aid to help with payment for performing in the Mainhouse of the MacRobert Arts Centre.

The successful application meant the shows could go on! The facilities in the MacRobert allow SUDS to provide amazing opportunities for their members, such as backstage experience, technical experience in a professional sound and lighting booth as well as simply being able to perform on a stage to an audience. The centrality of the MacRobert enables more students outwith of the society to experience theatre at a reasonable cost, and the sales as a result of this are invested back into the society.

Stirling University Drama Society

2014 - 2017 Projects

2017

Wheelchair basketball

The Sports Union held the first ever Scottish Universities and Colleges Wheelchair Basketball tournament thanks to support from the Stirling Fund. Enthusiasm for the sport has since led to the creation of the first dedicated disability sports club at Stirling.

International festival

Students, staff and members of the public turned out in great numbers to an International and Cultural Festival hosted by the University. With a grant from the Stirling Fund, our diverse campus population enjoyed a packed programme including a language café, traditional Chinese music, African drumming and more!

Sub-aqua Club

With a growing interest for scuba diving among Stirling students, the Sub Aqua club were awarded a grant to fund new breathing equipment, allowing them to safely train new members and develop their confidence.

2016

Projects  Description

International Week - Fashion Show

The project is a fashion show run during international week that aims to bring the university and the community of Stirling together to showcase the talent and cultural diversity present in the city.

‘Focus’ – Air TV 

A ‘Panorama’ style show, focusing on one key issue per episode. The issues would be those important to students.

Team Tri Suits – Triathlon

Funding to buy a collection of triathlon suits for club members to use when representing the university. 

Bonds of Europe: Politics Society International Trip to the Hague 

A trip to broaden the political and historical scope of members. The Stirling Fund has contributed to visits to the museum and the Dutch parliament when on the trip. 

Swimming for Stirling 

This funding provides for necessary training equipment that can be accessed by the relevant clubs, helping our current and future members as they train in a world class environment.

The Entrepreneurial Quest

Providing participants with a unique low-pressure opportunity for entrepreneurial experimentation and learning. 

Sports Union Media Toolkit

Funding for a GoPro and media toolkit to make it possible to report and record the progress of the University sports and extreme sports (Kayaking, skydiving etc) teams and to broadcast them to a wider audience.

Third 'Competition of the Year' for the University of Stirling Dance Club

Funding to help the Dance club compete at Manchester University’s dance competition. The club have been successful in their existing competitions and also fundraise effectively throughout the year.

Cricket Club

Replacing old equipment and the purchase of a catching practice machine. To enable the club to succeed in the higher division, having being promoted the previous semester.

The University of Stirling Archery Club

The recently started Archery club received funding to buy more Bows, foam targets, and other essential equipment to allow the club to take on new members.

ELSA Stirling Set-Up

Setting up an affiliation of the European Law Student Association (ELSA) at the University to offer excellent opportunities such as international mooting competitions, law schools and traineeships.

Strengthening Stirling’s Students 

Enhancing the provision of equipment in the Gannochy Sport Studio to open up more strength and conditioning sessions to the clubs. 

Ensuring the Student Voice is Heard

Support for a project to devise and organise a system via the online module that would make managing all 500+ course reps more effective.

Service User and Carer Involvement in Professional Education: A National Conference

Funding to hold a National Conference to share and promote best practice in Service User and Carer involvement in Social Work education and introduce to Health and other professional education. 

University of Stirling Performance Academy for Women’s Football 

Becoming partners with performance academies to
enhance performance opportunities for young females in the area.

Amplify Trading Bootcamp

The Boot Camp enables students to experience real-time financial market trading and so bridges the gap between an academic understanding of financial markets and the implementation of trading strategies in the real world.

 

2015

Projects  Description

Stirling Students' Union Charity Cup

The Vice President of Communities is organising a three day project in which the sports teams, societies and teams of students will compete in order to raise money for charity. The Stirling Fund has provided a trophy for this event that will also be used for future years. 

Employability Festival 

The Student Activities and Volunteer Coordinator is making plans for an Employability Festival that will benefit all the students at the university. This event will cover different issues and themes such as Women in Leadership, Career advice and a Volunteering Day. 

TEDx University of Stirling

The TEDx University of Stirling project will inspire students and help to raise the profile of the university. TEDx is a non-profit organisation which aims to share good ideas through their events. The project team have recruited a large team of student volunteers to help run the event. 

The University of Stirling Legal Clinic

Students from the Law Society are bringing a free legal clinic to the University of Stirling. This will be a pilot project within the university and aims to help students with legal advice as well as allow the law students to learn directly from a fully qualified lawyer. The society have met with other universities to get advice on how to make this project a more permanent feature. 

Business exchange in Rome 

Students from the Business Club and the Italian Society have collaborated to organise an educational trip to Rome. Both Societies will be able to learn about Italy's business sector first hand, visiting popular and successful businesses. The societies also plan to meet with some of our Italian alumni. 

Futsal Equipment 

A grant was issued to the Futsal Club to help them start up their new society. The money will be used for start up equipment and a coach for the first few months. 

Musical Theatre Society 

The Musical Theatre Society received funding for equipment to allow them to put on more productions and involve more students. 

Ladies Gaelic Football Club

The Ladies Gaelic Football Club received funding towards their tour abroad where they hope to increase the popularity of the sport and represent the university after a successful year of improving from last place to third place at the Annual British Universities Championships. 

University of Stirling Super Teams

The Sports President is organising an all day student-led, mass participation sports event. It will be the first event of its kind in the university. It will mark the end of the sporting year and be the start of annual Varsity events at the University of Sporting Excellence. 

Politics engagement - #GenerationVote

This project aims to engage as many students as possible in politics in the run up to the next Scottish Parliament Election in 2016. The project will include an exhibition of the 2014 Referendum for the students and local community. Additionally there will be speakers, debates and other events. 

 

2014

Projects  Description

University of Stirling Enterprise Awards

The Student Enterprise Programme engenders an enterprise culture amongst Stirling’s students. This project will feature a series of events to create awareness, build participation, offer training and guidance and finally, an event to present the awards and celebrate the progress of the participants. 

Cycling Club Safety and Accessibility Project

Following the successful establishment of the University Cycling Club in 2014, this project will promote safe cycling and make sport more accessible for all students at the University. 

Immersive Control of Flying Drones (ICOFD)

The ICOFD project seeks to develop an immersive virtual reality remote control of an unmanned drone. This proposal was submitted by the University of Stirling Computing Club, a growing initiative run by students and supported by staff, whose overall goal is to engage with Computing Science students and enhance their employability. 

Debating Competitions

Students from the Debating Society will have the opportunity to attend and participate in debating competitions around the country, enhancing their public speaking skills. 

Sub-Aqua Equipment

The Sub-Aqua Club has a record number of trainees participating in the sport and the grant issued from the Stirling Fund will partially fund new equipment. 

Clansmen Equipment

A grant was issued to the American Football Club, the Clansmen, to partially fund new helmets for the team. 

Scottish Contemporary Writers Series

The Scottish Contemporary Writers Series will offer a series of readings from local and well-known authors such as Alan Bissett, Kirsty Logan and William Letford. The final reading will be from students on our MLitt in Creative Writing who will read from their own works.  

Air3 Xtra

Air3 Xtra is an on going project that aims to expand Air3’s broadcasting capabilities from outside our studio. The aim of this project is to partially fund new equipment which will enable the production of high quality radio productions and features, allowing engagement with a wider audience. 

Talking Heads - Employability Project

This is a joint-funded project by the Career Development Centre and AirTV. A grant was awarded to create development opportunities for AirTV and its members by assisting the Career Development Centre with creation of a Talking Heads presence online. This project will increase student participation in internships and develop the employability of Stirling students. 

Touch Rugby Club

The Touch Rugby Club was issued with a grant to aid recruitment and skill development, allowing the club to compete with top level clubs. 

Stirling Students’ Union Volunteer Awards

The Students Union were awarded with a grant to partially fund an awards ceremony for student volunteers, a celebration of the effort and dedication that student volunteers contribute towards the Students' Union and the University. 

Enhancing the Study Zone

The aim of this project is to enhance the Study Zone in the Andrew Miller Building by displaying the best entries from the University's 2014 Annual Photography Competition. 

A Life Outside of Academia

Only 3.5% of science PhD graduates end up pursuing long-term careers in university research. Therefore, the Stirling Fund has awarded a grant for an event to showcase post-PhD opportunities outside of academia, allowing current PhD students the opportunity to engage, network and be inspired by those who have forged successful careers away from academic research. 

Student Sports Communications Team

A grant was awarded to fund a Student Sports Communication Team, established through partnership between the Faculty of Health Sciences and Sport, Communications Media and Culture and Development and External Affairs. As well as providing work experience for current student, this project will raise the profile of the University's International Sports Scholarship Programme. 

Student Money Week

To promote awareness about the services that are on offer to students when it comes to their financial situation, a grant was awarded to the Student Money Advice team to partially fund 'Student Money Week'.

Generation Y Conference

In partnership with other sponsors, this project will seek to bring employers and market leaders together to generate conversation with students about the graduate selection process.

Ladies Hockey Club Equipment

With an increasing amount of members, a grant was awarded to the Ladies Hockey Club to allow them to purchase new equipment for upcoming matches. 

Law in Action

This project will coordinate a series of five trips for student members throughout Scotland to visit places such as the Scottish Parliament, Scottish High Courts and law libraries. 

Wheelchair Basketball and Tennis Club 

A grant was awarded to the Sports Union to aid the development of a Wheelchair Basketball and Tennis Club, increasing the sporting opportunities for students. 

Kayak Club Coaching Development Scheme 

This project will ensure that the club has a larger coaching base and also to create a financially stable club within the next 3-5 years.

Photography Society Equipment

To contribute towards the development of the society and make it more accessible to students, a grant was issued to allow the society to invest in new equipment and training for its members. 

 

Other ways to offer your support

Return to our support homepage for an overview of all the ways you can assist the University of Stirling and our students.

Support Stirling