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Building bridges to Birkbeck summer programme expands

Birkbeck has added to its programme of free events, workshops and lectures running this summer at the 639 Centre in Tottenham

Birkbeck at dusk

Birkbeck's Big Ideas events series has expanded to Tottenham,  to inspire the borough's residents to consider university-level study.

The series, which comprises free lectures from Birkbeck academics to give people an idea of what studying at Birkbeck is like, was run in Whitechapel last year and proved extremely popular with residents.

The series running in Tottenham will take place at the area's 639 High Road Enterprise Centre and include topics including a look at what causes autism, why teenagers often feel paranoid and examining Russia's takeover of the Crimea.

The series is part of a wider programme of free events being held at the 639 Centre this summer to inspire Tottenham residents to think about university study. These include:

  • On Tuesday mornings, between 9.30 and 11.30am, the Tottenham Perks coffee morning will enable local residents to set the agenda on what workshops, lectures and taster sessions they would like to see to explore what university is like and how to get there from where they are now. Free refreshments will be available from the Blooming Scent Café.
  • On Wednesdays, the learner’s lounge will run between 4-6.30pm with different themes each week around building skills and to improve lifestyle, with the opportunity to benefit from a drop-in service to chat with staff from Birkbeck which can answer questions about how to go about further study.
  • Future Focus, on the 4th Wednesday of the month, will offer one-to-one careers advice and support residents in developing a career plan to enable them to meet their goals.

As part of the initiative, Birkbeck is offering residents who participate the opportunity to progress onto its Higher Education Introductory Studies (HEIS) course, a fast-track programme designed to facilitate entry to university. Students who undertake this course can apply for a £2000 bursary towards their study – halving the cost of their first year of a degree.

The curriculum on offer in Tottenham will initially be linked to business – in line with the initiative’s aim to improve career prospects, transferable skills and entrepreneurship in the borough – before broadening out to other subjects. It is designed to be a gradual introduction to university-level study, helping prospective undergraduate students to develop the knowledge, skills and understanding that they will need to perform well in higher education.

“We’re delighted to be partnering with Haringey on an innovative, ground breaking project alongside their substantial regeneration plans for the borough,” said Caroline McDonald, head of widening access at Birkbeck. “In time, we hope this will be a model which we can transfer to other local authorities in London having demonstrated its success in Tottenham.”

Tottenham residents interested in learning more about what’s happening at the 639 Centre should visit www.bbk.ac.uk/bridges for event information (registration advised) or contact Faith Williams on 020 8489 2228 or Birkbeck@haringey.gov.uk.

Students interested in pursuing a HEIS course may be eligible for £2000 bursaries towards their study – substantially reducing the cost of their first year of a degree. Further grants of £800 are available for students who earn less than £25,000. More details are available here.

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