After another competitive application round, Birkbeck once again welcomed 20 new students onto the Compass Scholarship Programme this October. The students, who are studying a range of subjects such as Psychology, Maths, Business and Politics, are almost at the end of their first term at Birkbeck already. Here’s a look back at their journey so far and some of the things they have been up to.

We were kindly hosted by the fantastic Library staff at Birkbeck for our two-day Orientation. In addition to a friendly welcome from the Access and Engagement Department staff who run the Compass Project, our Scholars heard from Birkbeck’s Wellbeing, Study Skills and Library team about the services available to them this year. They also enjoyed some tasty food from Terrace 5, a restaurant in the main building and a tour of the facilities. Thankfully the weather was great and showed off Bloomsbury in its best light during our mini tour of the area.

Following Orientation, our Scholars were introduced to their volunteer academic mentors. Our mentors participated in online training with mentor lead, Luke Williams, over the summer and have been checking in with their students throughout the term. A huge thank you to our mentors as always, for the support and guidance they offer to our scholars.

Birkbeck Students joining our friends at Student Action Refugees at the Anti-Refugee Bill Demonstration on 20 October

Some of our scholars have already teamed up with last year’s Student Action Refugees (STAR) committee. In addition to the meetings to plan this year’s activities, they got stuck in straight away through their contributions to the Anti-Refugee Bill rally that took place on 20 October in Westminster. It was lovely to see representation at the rally from so many of our partners in the sector. Birkbeck is proud of its STAR student society and are excited to see what things they get up to this year.

If you would like to find out more about the Compass Project at Birkbeck, see our webpage or email the Compass Project team.