On this special day, we honour our Co-founder and Patron, Baroness Valerie Amos. May your birthday be filled with joy and love. We are grateful for all that you do. Thank you for being an inspiration to us all!
🎉Happy Birthday Baroness Amos 🎉
Wishing You a Prosperous 2024!
As we continue to shape young people’s educational journeys, the commitment to fostering growth, support, and opportunity remains a cornerstone of our mission. The impressive number of applications, successful selections, and active participation in our programmes highlight the enduring impact of The Amos Bursary on the lives of students in London and the West Midlands.
2023 IN REVIEW
Our reflective video ‘2023 in Review’ encapsulates the essence of our journey throughout the year. As 2023 swiftly draws to a close, we are excitedly gearing up for the arrival of 2024.
APPLICATIONS ARE STILL OPEN
Be sure to get your application in before they close at 23:59 on 12 January 2024. We’re looking forward to welcoming our new cohort.
Check out our Become an Amos Student page for details.
MENTORING MATTERS
With all these new students coming, we need the mentors to support them. Why don’t you join us and empower young people to change the narrative and normalise success?
For more information, check out our Mentoring Page.
CELEBRATING 15 YEARS IN 2024
Our biennial Gala Dinner will take place on Friday, 21 June 2024, and coincides with our 15th year celebration. Keep an eye on our website as tickets go on general sale in January.
Wishing You a Prosperous New Year!
Stay tuned for more inspiring stories from the Amos Bursary community in 2024 as we continue
#PromotingExcellence, #ShapingFutures and #ChangeTheNarrative
AMOS Media – October Round Up – Black History Month Special
As we bid farewell to October, it’s time to look back at the incredible stories and achievements that made this Black History Month so special for us (and there’s a lot!). Our Amos Bursary community continues to shine, promoting excellence, shaping futures and changing the narrative. Here’s a roundup of our top stories.
SALUTING OUR SISTERS
To mark this year’s Black History Month theme of ‘Celebrating or Sisters’, our students and alumni weighed in on the amazing black women they wanted to celebrate.
PROMOTING EXCELLENCE
Samuel Olajugba, a trailblazing Politics and International Relations undergraduate at the University of Kent, embodies excellence, inspires positive change and is ready to make waves at Anthropy UK. 🔗Read more
Ife Alabi, a Warwick Law undergraduate, empowers Midlands youth with a mindset of resilience and LinkedIn expertise, fostering opportunities for growth and achievement. 🔗Read more
Nike Ajijola‘s remarkable speech at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre encourages others to embrace opportunities, seek support, and network with everyone. 🔗 Read more
Alumni Seun Sontan and Gabriel Amida and their team once again brought together African Caribbean Societies from universities across the UK to the Live Nation x Amos Bursary ACS Leadership Summit. 🔗Read more
SHAPING FUTURES
On the first day of the month, one of our Charity Partners, Ideas Foundation, shared how we joined forces to offer Amos students incredible opportunities to nurture their creative talents. 🔗 Read more
Grant Thornton staff gave up their office and their time to introduce students to the world of accounting and financial services with a real-world perspective. It’s been amazing to read some of the employees’ accounts. 🔗 Read more 🔗 Jessica Winter’s thoughts 🔗 Carly Gordon’s wishes
Linklaters opened their doors once again for our Student Development Day where we went through CV Writing, Interviews and Preparation For the World of Work. 🔗 What Awa Amon had to say🔗 Alexia Manentsa’s account
Amos students gained valuable insights at a speed networking session put on by Brown Brothers Harriman at their London HQ. 🔗 Read more
CHANGING THE NARRATIVE
Bank of America opened its doors for the official launch of The Amos Bursary Under 16 Progressive Network, designed to help students thrive at school and transition successfully into life after GCSEs.
Rokos Capital Management hosted their Black History Month event, which included a book signing by entrepreneur, author and social commentator (oh and did we say Amos Alumnus and Ambassador), Kenny Imafidon. 🔗 Read more 🔗 What Kavaughn had to say🔗 Read Destiny’s account
Linklaters hosted the Black Apprentice Network’s BHM Conference reviewing the accomplishments of the network in the last year while also providing a glimpse into the upcoming plans for their community in the months ahead. 🔗Read more
Bukunmi Oloyede reminded us how delighted she was to have been selected for the Mission 44 Youth Advisory Board. As an aspiring engineer, she considers it a profound privilege to be a part of this inspirational charity dedicated to driving transformative change. 🔗Read more
Cambridge undergraduate, Amber Morrison spoke at PwC’s virtual town hall meeting explaining what ‘Saluting our Sisters’ means to her as part of our first female cohort and how these bold young women are being equipped to bridge the Authority Gap as they prepare to enter the world of work.
Standard Chartered Bank Celebrated Black History Month, extending their welcome to The Amos Bursary. We were privileged to be able to enjoy the live sounds of the amazing YolanDa Brown and her band. 🔗Read more
Jibril Rose received the Inspired Youth Award from the Association of Jamaican Nationals UK and got the chance to discuss government policy and the issues people are facing in today’s society at No.10! 🔗Read more
They say things come in threes, well Amos Alumni and Ambassador, George Imafidon MBE thought he would keep that trend going this month, in a spectacular way…
1. The Prince of Wales presented the Kid from Prince of Peckham with an MBE no less for services to engineering, technology and young people! 🔗Read more
2. George was awarded Entrepreneur Rising Star of the Year by Barclays and The Black British Business Awards for the work of his organisation Motivez. 🔗 Read more
3. KPMG recognised Motivez as the Most Promising Non-Profit Organisation. 🔗Read more
ELSEWHERE IN THE COMMUNITY
CELEBRATE Johansel Emanuel Hernandez Pena and Sharon Ukpere both reaching their fundraising goals. They will both be off on the Amos Bursary International Experience to Lisbon, Portugal this year – Web Summit here they come. 🔗Johansel’s fundraising journey🔗Sharon’s fundraising journey
🔗SUPPORT Amos Mentor and donor of over 150 suits to our students, Michael Barrington-Hibbert, is standing as a candidate for Alderman of the City of London. If successful Michael will be the first black Alderman!
🔗CONGRATULATE Amos supporter, Elicia McKenzie who shone at LCCI Black Excellence Awards.
🔗WATCH Amos Alumni Karl Kareem Melami reveal the Sisters he celebrates not just in Black History Month. Spoiler alert, we all salute them for where we are today!
🔗LISTEN to Worklife with Adam Grant
🔗READ ‘That Peckham Boy’ by Kenny Imafidon of course!
Applications to join The Amos Bursary in 2024 open mid-November
Check out our Become an Amos Student Page for details.
Stay tuned for more inspiring stories from the Amos Bursary community as we continue to normalise success!
AUTHOR: Owensugie Ehioghae, Amos Bursary Scholar & Chemistry Undergraduate at Warwick University
Celebrating Our Pioneers Mike and Dolly Amos
Today we celebrate our Windrush Generation pioneers.
Those amazing trailblazers that were invited to rebuild post-war Britain and through adversity and oppression built a legacy of excellence and culture that has shaped the fabric of our society. Mike and Dolly Amos were part of that generation. The Amos Bursary was born out of their belief in young people and the power of education to transform lives.
They understood the pernicious and sustained negative impact of discrimination and prejudice on young people and they fought it through instilling pride in and understanding of black history and culture and the desire to be the best.
They were strong, determined and unflinching in their pursuit of excellence. They believed in family and community and were generous and welcoming. The Amos Bursary is built on their values. We are successful because as students we acknowledge the challenges we face and are determined to overcome them. We are prepared to work hard and to give and receive support. We are a huge extended family.
Because they did what they did, we can do what we do.
Find out more about the Legacy of Mike and Dolly Amos by reading our latest Impact Report
Amos Bursary Alumnus and Ambassador George Imafidon Awarded MBE
Amos Bursary Alumnus and Ambassador, George Imafidon, is awarded an MBE in the King’s Birthday List for services to young people and STEM sectors.
The honour recognises his outstanding achievements and service to the community which has had a long-term, significant impact.
Here To Serve
At age 26, George is CEO and co-founder of Motivez, an award-winning youth-led organisation founded in 2015, which empowers underserved young people aged 14 – 25 to access entry-level STEM jobs and become changemakers. They have inspired millions worldwide through their campaigns and directly supported over 9,000 young people in the UK over the past eight years through their grassroots, employability, and advocacy programmes where they develop local STEM changemakers transforming their communities. Their work has been highly commended and supported by the likes of the Royal Family, Sir Lewis Hamilton MBE, Idris Elba OBE and Beyonce.
Purpose Driven
In addition to his work as a social entrepreneur, George also holds the title of the Young Engineer of the Year 2022/23, awarded by the Royal Academy of Engineering. As an advocate for sustainable motorsport, he works as a Race Engineer with Sir Lewis Hamilton MBE’s X44 Vida Carbon Racing team. The electric off-road race team, competing as part of the Extreme E series, aims to break down the barriers to entry into the motorsport industry and create a more diverse and inclusive environment within the sport. X44 Vida Carbon also uses its platform to draw attention to environmental issues by racing in the world’s most remote locations affected by the climate crisis; and in 2022 won the Extreme E championship to conclude George’s second season with the team.
Better Together
As a diversity champion, George took a gap year from his degree studies and dedicated it to fundraising for the #AB1Million campaign, raising £1 million for the Amos Bursary to ensure other talented young people of African and Caribbean descent have the opportunities that have been afforded to him.
Colleen Amos OBE, CEO of The Amos Bursary said “This is such a well-deserved honour. The work George does with Motivez is an overflow of his passion for improving lives. As an Amos Bursary alumni, he continues to support Amos students. His passion for engineering and work with the Lewis Hamilton Foundation will impact positively on young people for years to come.”
Upon receiving the MBE, George shared “I’m honoured and grateful to receive the MBE for services to engineering, technology and young people. It’s been a privilege to use my voice over the last decade for so many of us who feel unseen, opening up trajectories in STEM for communities traditionally far removed from the industry. I really hope this recognition can open more doors for those that are underserved and goes some way to instilling hope on their journey.”
Achievements
2022: Young Engineer of the Year Award by Royal Academy of Engineering
2022: Extreme E World Champion by Extreme E
2022: Sir George MacFarlane Award by Royal Academy of Engineering
2021: Changing The Narrative Peer Award for Social Equity by The Amos Bursary
2021: Appointed as a Trustee of the Co-op Foundation
2020: The Powerlist Community Award by Powerful Media
2018: Diana Award by The Diana Award
2017: The UK’s Top Black Students by Rare Recruitment
The accolades just keep coming. We can’t wait to see what’s next for the Humanitarian Engineer.
Find out more about George’s journey with The Amos Bursary here https://www.amosbursary.org.uk/george-imafidon-changingthenarrative/
Amos Bursary Students Win Coronation Generation Poster Design Challenge
The winners of the Coronation Generation Poster Design Challenge have been announced
Educational charity, Ideas Foundation invited schools, colleges and educators from across the UK to take part in a challenge to encourage young people to get involved in the Coronation of King Charles III by harnessing their creativity.
Throughout April, Ideas Foundation delivered in-person workshops with schools and colleges from across the UK, including Manchester, Scarborough, Belfast, Greenock, Newport and London.
This allowed students to work alongside professional photographers and creatives including Canon Ambassador, Photographer and filmmaker – Clive Booth, Creative and Design lead, Hannah Wood from Wood & Co, Ayo Olubode, Poet and Amos Bursary Alumnus, Jags Singh, Cannon Ambassador, Nigel Stafford from Clear Channel and Robin Wight, founder of Ideas Foundation to develop and hone their skills and build confidence. The judges’ favourite design was created at a workshop hosted by Advertising Agency McCann London.
The judge’s favourite design, ‘#KingdomUnited’, was created by students from The Amos Bursary
The design was chosen by the judges because of its ability to do so much by saying very little. Head judge Sir John Hegarty, co-founder of Bartle Bogle Hearty and The Garage Soho, commented, “I wish I had thought of it myself. It’s a brilliant image. It shows how one idea can unite all issues and I love the fact they’ve just inverted Kingdom and United.”
Judges selected a group of ‘winning’ posters, which will be displayed on digital billboards at sites across the UK including Ealing, Liverpool and Glasgow, donated by Clear Channel UK. Alongside Sir John Hegarty The posters were judged by a panel of leading figures from the UK creative and education sectors, which included Kulvinder Johal, regional mentor for London and the South East for the Primary Science Teaching Trust, Simeon Quarrie, pioneering storyteller and technologist and Ben Conway copywriter at McCann London and Ideas Foundation Alumni.
Talent of the future
Conway was inspired by the levels of creativity from all the young people taking part, “To see how the young people have engaged with the Coronation Generation project has been so enlightening, their perspectives as they come of age in the King’s reign, it’s a sign of the times that the United Kingdom is ushering in a new era of hope and vision that we haven’t seen before. These posters they’ve created will be a starting point of King Charles’s history as King, and I’m so happy we’ve been given the platform to validate and uplift the voices of the young people to be a part of that history.”
Heather MacRae, Chief Executive at Ideas Foundation, the award-winning educational charity which champions bringing creativity into the classroom, said “We have all been blown away by the standard of entries and the enthusiasm of schools, having received over 1,000 signups. For many, The King’s Coronation will be the first celebration of this type they will have ever seen. We wanted to ensure young people could share what the occasion means to them. The winning posters give a real insight into how the younger generations view the Monarchy and reveal the yet untapped talent of the future of the UK creative industries.”
Reactions to the win
Colleen Amos OBE, CEO of The Amos Bursary an educational charity that partner with schools to empower British young people of African and Caribbean heritage to excel in education, commented “The Coronation Generation Poster Design Challenge was an amazing opportunity for our students to explore their creativity alongside industry experts. Their design will be displayed to mark this historic event making the whole experience more memorable for all of us. The Coronation values of community, diversity, sustainability, and youth are integral to all that The Amos Bursary does.”
Students involved in the winning poster said:
“I am grateful to have been part of commemorating such an important event in history” – Divine
“I feel honoured to have won as this is such a prestigious event.” – Rebecca
I think it’s nice to have been selected; the feeling that I’ve gone above and beyond in the creative field is something that I’m unlikely to forget.” – Vanessa
“This was a great learning experience for me and fun to do. It’s exciting that our design was chosen by the judges as the winner.” – Erykah
Creativity Wins
Although there can only be one overall ‘judges’ favourite’ design, the real winner is the opportunity itself. Highlighting the importance of creativity and its positive impact on everyone who rolls up their sleeves, embraces the unknown and “gives it a go”.
For more about the Coronation Generation Poster Design Challenge and to see all of the “winning” designs visit Ideas Foundation.
To explore supporting the important work The Amos Bursary does check out our Business Partners, Mentors, Volunteers or Donate pages.
#CoronationGeneration, #CreativeClass23, #Coronation
CREDITS:
Involved in concept and delivery:
Divine Agumba
Rebecca Gouro
Vanessa Okeke
Erykah Worburton
Jags Singh – Cannon Ambassador and Photography Tutor for Ideas Foundation
Included in the picture:
Ayo Olubode – Poet, Ideas Foundation Facilitator and Amos Bursary Alumnus
Andrew Wanogho
Marvellous Agyei
Edward Ndow
Who took the shot:
Moyin Babalola
International Women’s Day – On Her Shoulders
Tonight we marked International Women’s Day by celebrating our very own committee member, Juliet Alexander, at the British Film Institute (BFI). There’s so much more to say about this wonderful evening but it was not lost on us that the title of this 120-minute documentary brilliantly sums up the position of the women of the Amos Bursary.
On Her Shoulders: Black Women in Broadcast Journalism, it screams. And yes whilst the words after the colon give this film more context about Juliet’s personal career, On “Her” Shoulders brilliantly describes where The Amos Bursary began. And by “her” we mean Colleen Amos, by “her”, we mean Baroness Valerie Amos but more than this, by “her” we mean all of the women who since 2009 have been promoting excellence and changing the narrative for young men of African and Caribbean heritage.
But it’s International Women’s Day and we can’t say we were not excited when three years ago young black women were also invited to stand #onhershoulders and The Amos Bursary began shaping futures for the next generation of Black Women in Broadcast Journalism, the next generation of Black Women in STEM, the next generation of Black Women in Law, the next generation of Black Women in __ (fill in the blank!)
So we thought it only right to end the night by celebrating some of the shoulders we stand on, and we mean this is only some, and some of us doing the standing (and strengthening our own shoulders for the future of course). Happy International Women’s Day!
To become a supporter of The Amos Bursary like Juliet Alexander click here
Check out the International Women’s Day website to see how it was celebrated around the world.
#IWD2023 #EmbraceEquity #InternationalWomensDay
The Amos Bursary launches AMOS Connect
The Amos Bursary launches AMOS Connect, a new professional communications platform providing a significant set of digital features and benefits for our students.
The AMOS Connect platform which was officially launched in July 2022, has been designed to provide every Amos Bursary scholar with a fully hosted website on the ‘.amosbursary.com’ domain. Scholars will have access to their own corner of the internet where they can sell creations, blog their thoughts, showcase a portfolio, share their unique digital CV, or express themselves creatively in some other way. Students have already been developing their sites which are showing great promise. From budding social enterprises like https://ifealabi.amosbursary.com/ to education support services https://nikeajijola.amosbursary.com/ , it is indeed growing into a space for promoting excellence.
This unique offering was made possible by the generosity of Peter Jean-Pean, founder of the IT and digital services platform, WizzyWyp Media. Peter sees this personal gift of his time and expertise as his contribution to changing the narrative for these talented students. “The Amos Bursary gives fantastic support and transforms the lives of young people from African and Caribbean backgrounds. I hope the digital platform that we have developed opens a new chapter for the charity, adding value for the Amos Bursary students and beyond.”
Dowshan Humzah, an Independent Board Director and Strategic Advisor initiated the website project. In his capacity as an advisor to The Amos Bursary, Dowshan remarked from the outset, “This benefit for the Amos Bursary’s students is unique versus any other programme targeting underestimated students or advancing ‘levelling up’ and social mobility in the UK. We have seen how digitisation has advanced during the pandemic and this donation from Peter takes advantage of that. It also serves the growing desire from students to have a digital presence promoting themselves, their interests, passions, business or recreational pursuits.”
The Amos Bursary Co-founder and CEO, Colleen Amos OBE noted, “Our students spend five years on one of our triple track programmes as Scholars, Associates or Progressives. We currently have over 350 students who have the opportunity to benefit from this offer which is value at approximately £1700 per student. We are extremely thankful to Mr Jean-Pean for his generous gift that provides such a relevant proposition for our students and excited to see the successful digital ventures they launch on the platform.”
Phase two of the project is currently in Beta testing and is set to deliver even more communication-enhancing features to The Amos Bursary community.
The AMOS Bursary Celebrates Top Royal Academy of Engineering Award for George Imafidon
We are so proud to announce that Extreme-E racing pioneer, social mobility advocate and Amos Alumni Ambassador George Imafidon has received two of the Royal Academy of Engineering’s highest accolades – Young Engineer of the Year and the Sir George Macfarlane Medal.
The award and medal, recognise the potential of engineers working in the UK who have demonstrated excellence in the early stage of their career. George received the medal – named after wartime radar pioneer Sir George Macfarlane – at the Academy Awards Dinner in London on Tuesday 12 July 2022.
George Imafidon is a Performance Engineer working with Sir Lewis Hamilton HonFREng’s Team X44 electric racing team to design Extreme-E race cars. The motorsport team, founded in September 2020, aims to draw attention to environmental issues by racing in remote locations affected by the climate crisis.
George’s fascination with mechanics stems from his formative years spent fixing bikes for his friends in South East London, a pastime that would eventually lead him to graduate from University College London with a master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering.
In addition to his E-racing career, George is also CEO and co-founder of Motivez, an app designed to help young people from underrepresented backgrounds access personalised opportunities, particularly within science, technology, engineering and maths.
George’s commitment to platforming underrepresented voices was further evidenced by his appointment in September 2020 to the Board of Commissioners for Sir Lewis Hamilton’s Commission set up jointly with the Royal Academy of Engineering to address the underrepresentation of Black people in UK motorsport. As a young Black engineer, George was able to advise and guide the Commission’s work, introduce the research team to key stakeholders and young engineers for interviews and steer the final report that enabled the Commission to achieve high public profile and political attention for this issue.
George took a gap year during his university studies to fundraise for the #AB1Million campaign, raising £1 million for the Amos Bursary to ensure talented young people of African and Caribbean descent have the opportunity to excel in education and beyond.
George has received many prestigious awards and accolades including a Princess Diana Award, Accenture Entrepreneurial Excellence Award, Top 10 Future Leaders Award, UK Top 10 Black Students award and features in the 2021 Powerlist. He is also featured in the 2021 series of the Royal Academy of Engineering’s This is Engineering videos, designed to encourage young people from all backgrounds to follow what they love doing into a career in engineering.
Colleen Amos OBE, CEO and co-founder of the Amos Bursary, says “George is passionate about building products that improve lives and communities and over the past five years, he has worked across engineering, technology, consulting, and finance with firms such as Google, Rolls-Royce, J.P Morgan, BCG and now with Team X44. He is a firm believer in creating opportunities where people see obstacles and ensuring everywhere he goes is better than he found it.”
Professor Bashir Al-Hashimi CBE FREng, Chair of the Royal Academy of Engineering Awards Committee, says: “Our Young Engineers of the Year are pushing back the boundaries of modern engineering and creating genuinely new economic opportunities in the process. They are also fantastic role models for any young person considering whether to join the engineering profession. I congratulate them all.”
To find out about the other four RAEng Engineers Trust Young Engineers of the Year take a look at the website https://raeng.org.uk/news/academy-celebrates-outstanding-young-engineers-of-the-year
Find out more about George’s journey with The AMOS Bursary here https://www.amosbursary.org.uk/george-imafidon-changingthenarrative/
Suvera raises £5 million seed extension fund
Suvera has secured £5 million in its first public seed extension financing round led by Morningside Ventures, allowing them to reach thousands more patients. As stated by the startup “The investment will allow the company to continue to invest in our people, and technology to reach more patients and partners across the UK”.
Born from an idea by Amos Alumnus and Ambassador Dr Ivan Beckley, to tackle the lack of information on medication instructions in 2016, to developing a virtual care platform contracted by GPs surgeries across the country, Suvera is making its mark in the liminal space of medicine and technology.
Suvera is a unique virtual care platform. They help general practitioners virtually manage patients with hypertension and diabetes, using a dedicated remote care team and its in-house technology, resulting in 20,000 patients from across 40 GPs being supported.
This announcement brings the total backing for the company to £7 million, with previous support from Google’s Black Founders Fund, Calm/Storm Ventures, Ascension Ventures and Angel Investors including; Stephen Bourke, Matthew Miller, Chris Kelly, Colin Salmon and others.
At the Bursary, we are proud of the way our alumni are bringing solutions to the world’s problems and leading the way for change. With the mission Suvera has set out on, the sentiment for leading change remains true, as it continues to pursue a world where managing your health conditions is no longer burdensome.
Stay up to date and follow Suvera’s journey here.
See why Dr Ivan Beckley was voted one of our ten Amos Ambassadors who are #ChangingTheNarrative.