University is often referred to as the best experience of a young adult’s life, but it’s an experience that some don’t get the chance to have.

Caleb Young left school at 16, keen to get a job, but at 28 he decided he wanted a change.

“I was working in a factory and it was just boring. I don’t want to do a job like this for the rest of my life,” he said.

Since 2018, the charity Uversity has helped support 66 mature students from disadvantaged backgrounds in Northern Ireland to complete their undergraduate degrees.

With its support, Caleb went back to university to study a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering.

“It was a bit of a gamble. It was scary. It’s a long-term gamble that you don’t know if it’s going to pay out in the long run,” he said.

Caleb completed his bachelor’s degree in 2023, graduated in the summer of 2024 with a master’s degree in civil engineering and now works in that field.

A difficulty for mature students is juggling family and work alongside higher education.

Funding from Uversity helped to ease that burden for Caleb.

The scholarship was set up in 2018, sponsored by Irish businessman Dermot Desmond.

The fund is aimed towards people completing their bachelor’s degree for the first time and who would otherwise struggle financially.

After a successful written application and interview, up to €7,000 (£5,800) is available to people who meet its financial criteria.

Gretta FitzGerald, the programme director for the charity, said the funding offered students the ability to “fully engage” with their courses.

“It’s more for the extras, you know with the cost of living the way it is these days the extras are huge. Childcare, keeping the car on the road or paying for extra help with your studies,” she said.

“It just gives that little bit of time to individuals to achieve more and to achieve what they’re capable,” she added.

People across the island of Ireland can apply for the scheme.

The scholarship is available to students hoping to attend most higher education institutions in Northern Ireland, including Queen’s University Belfast and Ulster University.

Vanessa Milliken, 33, also received a scholarship from the charity.

She enjoyed her time in secondary education and had always planned to go to university.

“I was very good at school. I got As on my AS levels and I was one of a couple of people selected to visit Cambridge University and to get support for applying to the university,” she said.

Life had other plans. Vanessa veered away from university to start a young family, but the idea of going one day never left her mind.

“That kind of thought never really went away. I wanted a job that could bring in financially and support my family.”

Vanessa decided to start university as a mature student in 2019 and graduated with first-class honours from Queen’s University in 2023, studying computing software engineering.

She now works as a senior technology consultant at EY within the AI and automation team.

Vanessa said the idea of going to university as a mature student could be quite daunting.

“Being an older student was difficult to meet other people. It wasn’t the same kind of social experience,” she said.

“It was very much I was there to get my degree rather than being there for all the other kind of perks of going.”