Stirling student Eilidh MacKay has won a prestigious Saltire Foundation Internship - a summer placement with Football Aid in Edinburgh.
Football Aid was created in 2000 as a unique way of raising money for charities and voluntary organisations. Funds raised from Football Aid events are distributed to diabetes research, education and management projects, as well as other charities.
Football Aid is now expanding and Eilidh will be researching the feasibility of taking the programme to the German market.
“I specifically chose this project from a list of opportunities as my ambition is to become a social entrepreneur,” says Eilidh. “I am especially interested in this work as I believe in what Football Aid is doing and see sport as a means of encouraging social change.
“It’s exciting to be part of the Saltire Foundation. It has given me an incredible opportunity to join the alumni of a prestigious foundation that allows me to stay connected throughout the course of my career.”
The Saltire Foundation targets Scotland’s most talented students to work in paid internships in organisations based in theUK, theUnited States,China, Africa andEurope. Companies offering the internships include General Electric, Diageo, IBM and Liberty Mutual.
This year, Eilidh is one of 90 young Scots from 13 Scottish universities who are taking the first step of their future career with this highly successful Scottish business internship programme.
Sandy Kennedy, CEO of the Saltire Foundation, said: “The Saltire Foundation’s innovative approach to creating a vibrant and dynamic Scottish economy centres on unlocking the country’s human potential. These high-calibre placements challengeScotland’s top students to develop their own skills while working on projects of real significance to their host companies.
“Students often meet and engage with senior level management and gain exposure to high-level business networks. Host firms in theUSAhave said that the quality of Saltire Scholars is as good, if not better, than their Ivy League equivalents.
“This year has seen a record number of student applications and we will be recruiting 2013 scholars from the autumn of this year.”