From helping a singing group attend the Edinburgh Fringe Festival to supporting a bicycle recycling scheme, alumni donations to the Hands Up Fund have made more than 40 innovative student projects possible.

Open to all students, Hands Up provides a chance to apply for up to £2,000 of alumni donations to make ideas that benefit the wider student community a reality.

Shortlisted candidates are asked to pitch their ideas to a panel of alumni judges and senior members of staff. A few groups are then invited to double their money by producing a video and gaining the most ‘likes’ on YouTube.

Verity Postlethwaite (MA International Law, Ethics and Politics, 2015) sat on the judging panel this year and received Hands Up funding for women’s football while she was a student.

'I knew from my own involvement that it had a real impact to our team, which I can still see now a few years on. Sitting on the panel and seeing how much Hands Up has inspired such a wide range of students really struck me,' she says.

'I heard so many great ideas from students and it was wonderful to see how the alumni community is helping these come into fruition.'

'I think Hands Up is really important because it brings the student experience to life.'