Heller Bursaries 10th anniversary celebration

Link:

ucl.ac.uk/pcps/education/cmh/hellers.htm" target="_self">Heller Bursaries programme

A reception was held on 12 February to thank Michael and Morven Heller for providing bursaries to UCL medical students for the past ten years.

Over 400 students have benefited from the generosity of the Hellers since 1998, when they established a fund to allow medical students to pursue an extracurricular interest during their studies. Over this time students have taken up activities ranging from British Sign Language to ballet. 

UCL President and Provost Professor Malcolm Grant described how the bursary programme, originally intended to last a single year, had grown over the past decade, citing numerous students who have told him that they felt better equipped to deal with the stresses of their chosen career and that their medical training had been enhanced thanks to the skills and awareness they gained through the bursaries.

This year's recipients provided a display of their work, including calligraphy, life drawing, painting and bag design. Dr Peter Raven, Faculty Tutor for UCL Biomedical Sciences, introduced four students who demonstrated their talents in singing, and reading Persian and French.

Sarah Jones, who performed Mozart's 'Porgi Amor' and Maconchy's 'Ophelia's Song' summed up the feelings of many bursary recipients: "I'm so grateful to the Hellers. I couldn't have afforded singing lessons otherwise, and they made a real difference to me. I'm from Doncaster, so I didn't know anyone when I came to London. The singing lessons helped me to settle in and really gave me a lift."

She presented Mr and Mrs Heller with a bespoke book containing testimonies from bursary recipients since the programme began, describing how the activities they pursued had changed their lives.

Morven Heller said: "We are delighted with the programme. The last ten years has been an exciting journey for us; your dramatic talents have really opened our eyes. We are the fortunate ones to be associated with such success. I hope the programme continues for many years to come."

To find out more about the Heller Bursaries, follow the link at the top of this article.

Image 1: Chinese calligraphy by Jasmine Onn Yee Ho

Image 2: Rina Chotai discusses her life drawing with Morven Heller