Businessman backs Aston's scholarship fund with six-figure sum

19/4/2007

Paul Bassi is one of the most successful businessmen in the country but knows only too well the type of obstacles that are put in the place of so many gifted youngsters unable to continue their education.

He experienced many of the barriers himself when growing up in the West Midlands and is determined to encourage the next generation of successful business people, lawyers, doctors and other professionals.

Mr Bassi is backing the launch of an Asian Student Scholarship Fund, created by Aston Business School in Birmingham, with a six-figure sum.

He is also taking on an ambassadorial role in promoting the fund to businesses across the West Midlands.

"The expression 'against all odds' keeps coming back into my mind when I hear of the obstacles some students face as they try to improve their education," explains the chairman of Bond Wolfe, based in West Bromwich.

"These students face an enormous amount of obstacles just to finish school with A-Levels and then they have an even bigger challenge in actually getting to university. They are under incredible pressure to leave their education behind as quickly as possible, often from their own families for the simple reason that they cannot afford to let them continue.

"They are intelligent and possess bags of potential, but more often than not they are pressured to find work as quickly as possible to help their families. So many of the most gifted students continue to fall by the wayside and we need to make sure we catch them before it is too late.

"What I like about this fund is that it is self-serving. There is real value to this scheme that the students, their families and their future employers will benefit from a little further down the line.

"This is something the whole of the region needs to support because it is the future of the whole region that we talking about.

"Where are the next generation coming from? We can play a role in bringing them through by providing the sort of support they simply cannot find at the moment.

"It takes the pressures of them and their families and is a solid investment in the future."

Mr Bassi believes it is also important to keep such talent within the West Midlands.

Aston Business School, part of Aston University, already boasts one of the most diverse student and faculty populations in the country. It reflects the multi-cultural nature of the city of Birmingham - 40% of students are from an Asian background.

But the internationally acclaimed Business School is committed to building on this track record and provide all talented students the opportunity for university study and a successful and prosperous future. The creation of an Asian Student Scholarship Foundation is a major step forward in achieving this goal of widening participation in higher education.

The aim is to have the fund backed by a select syndicate of successful, philanthropic and leading business people and professionals.

These benefactors will create an endowment fund to provide grants that will enable students from lower-income backgrounds to pursue a wide variety of study programmes.

Professor Michael West, newly appointed Head of Aston Business School in succession to Professor John Saunders, describes the fund as a significant initiative.

It has been developed as part of the innovative partnership between the Business School and the Institute of Asian Business.

"As fees for all university degrees in the UK rise up to £3,000 a year, many students have concerns about funding their studies," says Brian Porter, Director Advancement at Aston University. "It is crucially important that this large investment in their education and career is made as manageable as possible for students at this time.

"In particular, we must ensure that talented students from lower-income backgrounds, or groups that traditionally who are not participating in education, do not miss out on educational opportunities due to financial constraints."

The Asian Student Scholarship Foundation funds will also be directed towards an emergency hardship fund for currently enrolled Asian undergraduate and postgraduate students who encounter unforeseen financial difficulties during their time at the university.

Aston Business School is not only one of the largest, but is also consistently recognised as one of the leading business schools in Europe.

It is ranked third in the UK for business by The Times and The Financial Times league tables and teaching has consistently been rated as excellent by UK government assessments.

Aston is also one of only 25 business schools in the UK, Europe and USA to hold the 'triple crown' of business school accreditation from three international regulatory bodies.

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