For 25 years, we’ve been supporting education, entrepreneurship and job creation to advance people and companies and build a more inclusive and sustainable future, having benefited over 630,000 students, professionals, start-ups and SMEs around the world. 

In the 1990s, Banco Santander embraced higher education as a driver of inclusive and sustainable progress among people and businesses. Hence, Santander Universities was born: a global, unique and pioneering initiative with education and job opportunities for students and professionals via Santander Open Academy and for start-ups and SMEs through Santander X. 

Today, because of our work in the past 25 years, we’ve helped some 630,000 students, professionals, start-ups and SMEs; invested over 2 billion euros; and signed agreements with more than 1,000 universities and academic institutions in 11 countries. 

Our support only grows stronger to meet new market demands and foster lifelong learning. In the spirit of #NeverStopLearning, we continue to run skills development programmes to promote a cornerstone of Santander Universities: employability.

Now the bank has four new initiatives with 3,000 study grants and a global entrepreneurship challenge, Santander X Global Challenge | Finance for All to find the most innovative start-ups and scale-ups with the highest growth potential for financial inclusion. More specifically, it is offering 1,600 Santander | Digital Business - The University of Chicago grants to learn new digital management skills; 400 Santander Tech | Emerging Technologies Programme by MIT Professional Education grants for participants to master the use of emerging technology that is in high demand at companies; and 1,000 Santander Languages | English to Boost Your Career - University of Pennsylvania grants for advanced business English study.

For Santander Universities Global Head Javier Roglá: “Education is the bedrock of a more innovative and competitive society and the fundamental driver of progress and a more sustainable economy”. At Santander Universities, we're proud of these past 25 years, with the certainty that our future must continue to evolve to encourage lifelong learning as a crux for greater employability”.

Santander Open Academy now cover seven disciplines that promote education and employment. 

• Santander Tech for new technology, programming and innovation.
• Santander Skills for learning soft and hard skills.
• Santander Women for career and leadership development among women.
• Santander Language for on-the-job foreign language learning.
• Santander Studies, with special aid for finishing studies.
• Santander Internship for university students’ job training.
• Santander Research for material and financial student aid.

Carolina Zarco, a winner of the Santander Women | W50 Leadership - London School of Economics scholarship, says, “we were taught essential and transformative leadership skills. Now I know myself better and am improving my leadership style. Learning how other women see the world by sharing experiences was invaluable. I gained new contacts from several countries and industries, with whom I shared experiences and remain in touch”.

Santander X, the bank's global entrepreneur network managed by Santander Universities, assists innovative start-ups and scale-ups with training, development and growth while also helping SMEs digitalize and set up shop overseas.

Plastecowood, winner of the global Santander X Environmental Challenge, said that these initiatives give much-needed visibility and support to green entrepreneurship, which is both fundamental for similar eco-friendly companies and attractive to investors; and that, thanks to this award, it has made major strides in building trust to attract capital.