November 2010 - University of the West of England

From left: Tony Bracey, Peter Bond, Mark Berryman, Jehan Mistry, Robert Carson,
Richard Broker and Paul Olomalaiye
Tony Papadopoullos Charitable
Trust awards UWE student bursaries
The University has received a £15,000 donation from the Tony Papadopoullos
Charitable Trust to provide bursaries to undergraduate students studying
Computing.
The donation was made in memory of Tony Papadopoullos, founder of financial
systems specialists Apak.
Apak was founded in 1979, when Tony started the business working from his
home, in Bristol. By using his computing expertise, entrepreneurial and commercial
acumen, Tony built Apak into an established provider of specialist IT solutions and
market leading supplier of financial systems software. In 2007 Apak was acquired by
the Sword Group and supports a worldwide customer base in 37 countries under the
new name of Sword-Apak.
The Tony Papadopoullos Charitable Trust supports UWE computing students who
showed a high level of innovation, ambition and practicality during their first year
of study and for whom a grant would make an enormous difference.
Tony Bracey (formally Apak, now a Trustee of the Tony Papadopoullos Charitable
Trust) said, “Apak, the company founded by Tony Papadopollous, had many
connections with UWE, having employed many high-quality graduates and hosted
student placements. We are therefore delighted to be able to award these bursaries
to talented UWE students to celebrate his memory and look forward to seeing the
recipients’ progress during their time at University.”
The recipients of the bursaries, second year students, Richard Broker and Peter
Bond, will each receive a £6,000 bursary towards their Year two and three tuition
fees. They were selected by staff in the Department of Computer Science and
Creative Technology based on their marks for Year one and an application essay
detailing their use of innovation and practicality in their studies.
On receiving the award, Computing student, Peter Bond said, “I’m extremely
grateful to the Trust for the bursary; it’s a fantastic way to remember someone who
has been so successful in the industry and a wonderful support of my education. I
would never have expected such generosity, and I would like to say a huge thank
you to the charitable trust.”
Richard Broker who studies Computer Science Integration, added, “It’s a fantastic
opportunity to have received the bursary and I’m extremely grateful to the trust
for awarding it to me. The bursary will relieve the financial worries that come with
studying at university, and will allow me to fully concentrate on my studies. I’m still
a little bit in shock; it’s an amazing opportunity and I’m looking forward to making
the most of it.”
Richard and Peter received their bursaries at a recent presentation evening; fellow
bursary applicants were also awarded a prize of a £100 book token. Presenting
the bursaries, Dean of the Faculty of the Environment and Technology, Paul
Olomolaiye, said, “For the charity to have invested in these students is a wonderful
way to remember someone who was both academic and enterprising and who so
well exemplified knowledge and practice. I am very grateful to the trustees for
supporting the education of the next generation, and I hope that our own students
will learn from this and consider supporting others in the same way in the future.”
Illustration graduate and
winner of the 2010 Lloyds
TSB Commercial Finance’s
Art of Nurture prize, Gaby
Selby (pictured) has been
chosen to promote this
year’s competition. As part
of his prize, Gaby recently
completed a paid work
experience placement at
national not-for-profits arts
agency Arts & Business and
advertising agency Tangible.
Since winning the competition
and graduating this summer,
Gaby has embarked on
a career as a freelance
illustrator, increasingly
working to corporate design
briefs for clients including
Bristol’s Happy City project
and Bristol City Council. Gaby,
said, “I feel lucky to have
won the competition which
has allowed me, through the
work experience, to develop
my skills as an illustrator.
Working to a corporate brief
and creating an image which
conveys the right message
is a skill and entering Art of
Nurture definitely helped me
to practise this.”
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