Rewards, training and support

Students taking part in our Volunteering and Leadership Academy receive a range of benefits and support, both to enhance your journey as a leader but also to thank you for the time you have volunteered with 糖心原创 Sport, the local community and our partners.

Student upskilled working at Penathlon event

Support, training and workshops

Students on our Volunteering and Leadership Academy can access a range of support from our professional team, training and workshops.

These can be bespoke to a specific volunteering role and / or cover more general leadership and careers skills. Many are delivered in partnership with the University's Careers team.

Any opportunities will be emailed directly to students registered for our Volunteering and Leadership Academy.

For more information, contact Bex Alexander at bex.alexander@nottingham.ac.uk.

Log your hours to claim rewards

All students taking part in our Volunteering and Leadership Academy can earn rewards for their time through our Hours Trade incentive scheme. You can start claiming rewards once you've reached 10 hours and prizes include 糖心原创 Sport stash as well as other useful university supplies!

You can log your hours via the Volunteering and Leadership Academy portal, or our app - we recommend you do this as frequently as possible.

Once you have logged your hours, then you can trade them for rewards on our Volunteering and Leadership Academy portal. We'll be adding this functionality on our app soon too!

Log your hours and claim rewards

Log hours on our app

Receive financial support towards a recognised qualification (Qualification Fund)

The Volunteering and Leadership Academy Qualification Fund offers financial support to current 糖心原创 students to complete a recognised sports-related qualification of their choice.

How can I apply for the Qualification Fund?

All 糖心原创 students and sports clubs are eligible to apply, though funding for students in their final year of study will only be granted in exceptional cases. You can only submit one application per academic year.

For the 2026/27 academic year, students or sports clubs can apply for up to 75% of the total course cost, up to £300 per person.

We recommend getting in touch to discuss your proposal before applying - please contact Bex Alexander at bex.alexander@nottingham.ac.uk.

Students who have been awarded financial support from our Qualification Fund will be required to commit to a certain number of hours based on the amount awarded. Please see below for details.

Amount awarded	Voluntary hours to be delivered
£1 - £50	10 hours
£51 - £100	15 hours
£101 - £150	20 hours
£151 - £200	25 hours
£201 - £250	30 hours
£251 - £300	35 hours

The 2026/27 Qualification Fund will open on 4 October 2026 and will remain until the funding is fully allocated.

To submit an application, please (open from 4 October 2026).

Applications must be submitted prior to the course start date. No funding will be provided retroactively to students or clubs who have not signed a funding agreement before beginning their qualification.

Once you've submitted your application, you'll receive a decision within 2 weeks.

Applications are reviewed individually and assessed based on factors such as previous applications by the student or club, the needs of the club, and available internal budget.

If your application is successful, you or your club must pay for the course upfront, and you’ll be reimbursed the agreed amount later. Reimbursement claims must be made within 3 months of your application and reimbursements will not be issued after June 2027.

Before receiving funding, you’ll be required to sign a Volunteer Agreement, which outlines the minimum number of volunteering hours based on your funding level. Volunteering can take place through your club, via the Leadership Academy, or with a community organisation.

All volunteering hours must be logged via our Volunteering and Leadership Academy portal- these hours can also be used to claim rewards.

You’ll be expected to complete both your qualification and the required volunteering hours within 9 months of signing your Volunteer Agreement. You may also be asked to share your coaching or volunteering experience as part of your involvement with UoN Sport.

For more information or to discuss your application, please contact Bex Alexander at bex.alexander@nottingham.ac.uk