We are proud to share a deeply meaningful development within our 2025 Summer Studentship programme. One of this year’s awards has been named the Chris Ferguson Summer Studentship, in recognition of a generous donation of £4,815 raised in memory of the late Chris Ferguson, a valued colleague of The Courier team.

Many of you may recall that at last year’s Annual Meeting Dinner, we were joined by Struan Nimmo and Graham Huband from the Courier. Following the sudden and unexpected loss of Chris Ferguson due to a heart issue, the Courier team made the heartfelt decision to use the Courier Business Awards as an opportunity to raise funds for SHARP in his memory. The outpouring of support resulted in an outstanding donation, which will now have a lasting impact.

At SHARP, we always ask families how they would like a donation to be used to reflect what would have meant the most to their loved one. Chris’s family chose to support our Summer Studentship Programme - a decision that perfectly aligns with our mission to support the next generation of doctors in the fight against cardiovascular disease.

The donation will fund a named studentship for the next three consecutive years, with the Chris Ferguson Summer Studentship awarded to the highest-scoring project each year. This programme provides bursaries to medical students working on cardiovascular research projects during their summer break. These projects not only offer academic development but also valuable hands-on experience that can shape a student’s future career.