Committed to Higher Education

We created ‘Santander Universities’ in 1996 to support the Higher Education sector in such areas as teaching and research, international cooperation, knowledge and technology transfer, entrepreneurial initiatives, student mobility and innovation.

Santander Universities Global Division has signed co-operation agreements with 700 universities in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Mexico, Morocco, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Russia, Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States, Uruguay and Venezuela.

‘Santander Universities’ was introduced in the UK in 2007 through Abbey National plc and the bank is already collaborating with thirty British Universities and Higher Education Institutions, with agreements focused in promoting international exchange, entrepreneurial activities and the mobility of students and researchers within the network.

‘Santander Universities’ initiatives include:

• the granting of over 12,000 scholarships a year to promote study, research and initial professional work experience and bursaries to facilitate student and staff mobility between universities in the network
• aid to 2,500 research groups
• the issue of 3.7 million university smart cards in 185 universities, with a high level of functional and financial features for teachers and students
• support for two major global projects: the ‘Miguel de Cervantes Virtual Library’ (www.cervantesvirtual.com), the largest of its kind for Hispanic works; and Universia (www.universia.net), the biggest university co-operation network in the world, that includes 1,070 universities.

For Banco Santander, investing in education is the most powerful means of promoting the development and prosperity of society.
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