World’s first crowd-funded accommodation scholarship is launched

The world’s first crowd-funded scholarship for student living has been unveiled by UniPlaces.com, a student accommodation service.

The scholarship will be financed by activity on the UniPlaces website, with the company placing a pound in the fund for every booking they receive.

Students will be selected for the scholarship through a process dubbed ‘kindness as currency’. Applicants must upload a video of themselves performing a ‘random act of kindness’, with those deemed the most generous rewarded.

Initially, five students will have their accommodation costs paid for the upcoming term, with UniPlaces hoping to expand the scheme as the website grows.

The crowd-funded scholarship is a world-wide scheme, but may have particular relevance in the UK as the cost of university continues to rise.

For example, the average cost of Warwick accommodation will rise from £4,204 in 2014-15 to £4,552 in 2015-16, an 8.3 percent increase in comparison to the current 0.3 percent rate of inflation.

Sophie White, a first-year Classicist, commented: “The cost of student accommodation is extremely high yet often goes unreported – the scholarship can help to ease the burden and prevent people worrying about debt.”

Uniplaces’ co-founder, Ben Grech said: “Uniplaces believes everyone should feel they have a place at university, and every element of this campaign is designed to help not just those who obtain scholarships, but anyone who comes into contact with an act of kindness.

“It is a simple mechanic that really brings our mission to life and encourages students to make their campuses welcoming for everyone.”

First-year Law student Akaash Harnal praised the scholarship’s ‘kindness for currency’ selection process, “rewards those who are willing to create a more positive university experience for others.”

However, first-year Creative Writing undergraduate, Hope Barker was more critical. She claimed that it, “takes the sincerity away from the acts themselves.”