"I always wanted to go into healthcare and help people,” says pharmacy student and Alumni Fund Sanctuary Gold Scholar Yaaseir, “because Rohingya refugees like me have been persecuted for a very long time. We do not have doctors. We do not have access to healthcare. So that motivated me when I was young to work towards a degree in the sector.”

Despite achieving excellent exam results, Yaaseir’s hope of university in his home country of Myanmar was dashed by the government’s ban on Rohingya students. He fled the genocide to Bangladesh in 2017 and came to the UK in late 2020.

Thanks to the University’s Gold Scholarship Programme, he’s been thriving at Bath since September 2022, despite the obstacles in his path. “I can’t talk with my family all the time, so because of that, I became demotivated sometimes, even though I tried not to be. But the Gold Scholarship team were always there for me,” he explains.

“Through the programme, we had a lot of events, so I made a lot of friends who are like-minded and want to use the opportunity to develop themselves."

With over 2,000 donors per year, your Alumni Fund harnesses the power of our community to achieve amazing things through regular giving – including funding ten new Gold Scholarships per year.

Each of these scholarships unlocks the potential for a bright mind to seize every opportunity Bath has to offer, regardless of their circumstances, and one per year is ringfenced for refugees and asylum seekers like Yaaseir. None of this would be possible without your help.

In addition to the Alumni Fund, Gold Scholarships are also supported by individual philanthropy, corporate partners and legacy gifts.

Donations can also be endowed in order to help students for years to come, such as Champagne That Cares founder and alumnus Mark Philips’ generous gift to set up the Brigid Memorial Gold Scholarship. This endowment will support at least ten Gold Scholars during its lifetime.

Each year, 50 new students from disadvantaged backgrounds receive the Gold Scholarship Programme’s holistic package of financial and pastoral support, including access to mentors, networking events and skills sessions to enable them to succeed at Bath and beyond. Thank you for giving the gift of opportunity.

Talent knows no boundaries and should never be constrained by circumstance. The Alumni Fund offers packages of support so talented students of all backgrounds can afford to thrive while they are at Bath. Read on to find out how students have benefited from gifts to the Alumni Fund.