New scholarship programme to develop next generation of health leaders

Imperial College London and Sanofi, an innovative global healthcare company, have launched a new scholarship programme for underrepresented students.

The Sanofi NextGen scholarship programme, part of Sanofi's larger ‘A Million Conversations’ global campaign, aims to create a new generation of healthcare leaders who can help improve trust in healthcare among underrepresented and marginalised communities, including women, ethnic minorities, people whose parents did not attend university, LGBTQ+ and people with disabilities.

The scholarship’s announcement follows the results of a global survey sponsored by Sanofi, which demonstrated diminished trust in healthcare systems among underrepresented communities. In the UK, 58% of all respondents say they have suffered trust-damaging experiences. Those most likely to say this include disabled respondents (76%), ethnic minority respondents (69%), LGBTQ+ respondents (63%) and women (62%).

"We want to attract the brightest students from all backgrounds and to do this we need to support those who are under-represented and disadvantaged financially." Professor Maggie Dallman Vice President (International)

This scholarship is available to Imperial students who are from an underrepresented community, have demonstrated financial need, and have been assessed with a Home fee status. In 2023-2024, the first year of the programme, the scholarship will be available to current undergraduate students, and afterwards may be available to both new and current undergraduate and postgraduate students. It is available to students from all Faculties.

The Sanofi NextGen Scholarship will award eligible Imperial students with £10,000 per year to help support tuition costs, living expenses, course-related books, fees and expenses. Five scholarships are available for the 2023-2024 academic year.

If you would like to apply for the scholarship, please complete the application form here.

The holistic Sanofi NextGen scholarship is a unique, life-changing opportunity. Beyond financial support, NextGen scholars will gain exclusive access to mentorship, internship, leadership training and potential employment opportunities at Sanofi UK & Ireland once they graduate. Scholars will also become members of a worldwide network of diverse young leaders who have the shared ambition to build a more inclusive healthcare system.

Imperial’s Vice President (International) Professor Maggie Dallman said: “We want to attract the brightest students from all backgrounds and to do this we need to support those who are under-represented and disadvantaged financially.

“This new scholarship programme supported by Sanofi UK & Ireland will ensure that the future leaders in healthcare are able to thrive, inspire positive change and create a healthy society.”

Richard Baggaley, People Director at Sanofi UK & Ireland, said: “If we want to build trust with patients of all backgrounds, we must develop and empower the next generation of leaders in healthcare from all backgrounds. 

“That’s why we are proud to partner with Imperial College London to support young people from marginalised communities on their career journey. By working together, we hope to make significant progress towards building a more inclusive and equitable healthcare system.”

Imperial’s Faculty of Medicine and Sanofi have collaborated on various research projects over the past ten years. Professor Robin Shattock, for example, worked with Sanofi Vaccines, on an EU-funded project called Euroneut, which focused on developing an HIV vaccine.

Sanofi representatives recently visited The Invention Rooms and Imperial College London’s White City Campus, to see some of the College’s societal outreach and entrepreneurship programmes. The Sanofi visitors included Richard Baggaley, People Director, Sanofi UK and Ireland; and Léa Futschik, Diversity Scholarship and Engagement Director, Sanofi. French Embassy representatives Dr. Minh-Hà Pham, Counsellor for Science and Technology at French Embassy in the United Kingdom, and Dr Katia Wehbe, Scientific Attaché at French Embassy in the United Kingdom, joined the visit.

This scholarship collaboration is supported by the French Embassy in the UK.

Main image credit: Fergus Burnett.