AOL Broadband sponsors €20,000 for WIT students Back to Media Releases

From left Stephanie Troy, Aoifé Barrett, Pamela Uddin, Paul Barry, WIT, Dr Tom O' Toole, WIT, Brian Barry, AOL Broadband, John Kinsella, Prof Kieran R Byrne, Director Waterford Institute of Technology, Kevin Nolan, Joyce Barrett, Darren Scannell, Eoin Houlihan, Christopher Marks and Sonya O Shea.

14th November 2008: Ten lucky students from the Waterford Institute of Technology were each presented with bursaries of €2,000 at an awards ceremony which took place today (Friday, 14th Nov 08) in the School of Business hall in WIT. The bursaries, totalling a substantial €20,000, were sponsored by AOL Broadband as part of their 10 year anniversary celebrations and ongoing commitment to the local community. The deserving students, selected from the 1st year class in the School of Business and School of Science, Department of Computing, Maths and Physics, will now have much needed funds to help cover their ongoing educational costs.

"We were delighted that AOL Broadband has sponsored these bursaries for our 1st year students. The rising cost of entering higher education is a challenging factor for young students and their families.

It is encouraging for the Institute and its students that a large local business like AOL Broadband has stepped up to the mark and demonstrated its commitment to the local community by offering this substantial financial support to help those undertaking a higher qualification." Professor Kieran R. Byrne, Director of the Waterford Institute of Technology.

"We were delighted that AOL Broadband has sponsored these bursaries for our 1st year students. The rising cost of entering higher education is a challenging factor for young students and their families. It is encouraging for the Institute and its students that a large local business like AOL Broadband has stepped up to the mark and demonstrated its commitment to the local community by offering this substantial financial support to help those undertaking a higher qualification." Professor Kieran R. Byrne, Director of the Waterford Institute of Technology.

Brian Barry, Financial Director AOL Broadband said, "We have a number of initiatives happening to mark AOL Broadband's 10th anniversary in Waterford and we were keen to give something back to the Waterford community who have been a major supporter of ours over the years. As the major provider of higher education in the South East, many of our current employees were educated at WIT, and invariably so will our future employees. We are delighted to be a part of this program and would like to congratulate the students on their awards and wish them good luck in their studies going forward."

With over 750 employees, AOL Broadband is very conscious of its role in the South East community. Education is at the forefront within the organisation. Last year the company established a Graduate Diploma in Management for its employees, also in conjunction with the Waterford Institute of Technology.

AOL Broadband also launched a campaign to mark the 10th anniversary of its operations in Waterford, by offering a Waterford-based charity the chance to receive €10,000 in funding. Employees are currently fundraising for the lucky charity by generating €5,000 in funds which the company will match to make it a very happy Christmas for a local charity in receiving €10,000.

Media Contact Information

Media Contact at TalkTalk

Elaine Connolly
Senior Communications Manager, TalkTalk Residential Customer Service.
T: 051 333 298 E: Elaine.Connolly@aolbb.co.uk

About TalkTalk

TalkTalk, launched in February 2003, is the home phone and broadband company from The Carphone Warehouse. It now has over 4 million customers and is the largest supplier of Broadband to residential homes in the UK.  AOL Broadband was acquired by Carphone Warehouse in October 2006.

TalkTalk Waterford manages the customer support function for TalkTalk & AOL UK customers. Established in 1998, TalkTalk Waterford employs in excess of 700 employees.Follow TalkTalk on Twitter and on our blog: http://www.twitter.com/talktalktips and http://www.talktalkblog