Sam Davies, Director of Philanthropy and Alumni Engagement, thanked Streamline for their support: “Having partnerships with local organisations is very important to the university and can take many different forms. It is wonderful that Streamline have chosen to support new student prizes in this critical area of health care – it further demonstrates their commitment to providing a service that meets the changing and varied needs of its passengers.”
Dr Nita Muir, academic lead for nursing at the School of Health Sciences, said: “Through these awards, the local community (in conjunction with the Nursing (Mental Health) BSc(Hons) – team) are investing in the future mental health nursing workforce and enabling students to be recognised for their excellent achievements within this field of practice.”
The university has previously worked with Streamline to develop and accredit a Catstream (UK) disability handling and awareness training course for Hackney private hire and car drivers. Since being accredited, the course has also received a Recognising Educational Quality mark from the university and has been adopted by Brighton & Hove City Council for drivers of wheelchair accessible vehicles.
John Street, Vice Chairman of Streamline Taxis, said the new prizes were a natural extension of their partnership with the University of Brighton: “Streamline Taxis are proud to support the University of Brighton and all the students that come to our wonderful, diverse city to study.
“Having worked closely with the university to develop our accredited disability awareness course over many years now, we make disability awareness a top priority in the training of Brighton & Hove licensed taxi drivers. Our company would like to remind everyone, everywhere, that not all forms of disability are evident or visible so please be calm and understanding at all times with all members of the public.”
Streamline Taxis has been serving Brighton & Hove since 1936 and their vehicles are easily identifiable thanks to their unique aqua and white livery. The firm has founded by a coalition of drivers firstly in Brighton who were looking to protect their livelihoods by providing a better service to the public. The Streamline cooperative concept changed the taxi industry across England, spreading from Brighton & Hove to Portsmouth, Bristol, and Nottingham and as far as Harrogate.
To find out more about supporting student prizes at the University of Brighton, either personally or through an organisation, please email giving@brighton.ac.uk.