A new scholarship program commencing in 2020 will award talented domestic undergraduate students who face financial challengers with free accommodation, general allowance, and financial and personal support.

Recipients of the Hansen Scholarship will receive housing at Little Hall—a new student residency currently under construction on Swanston St, Carlton. Set to open in 2020, it will house 669 students, including 20 Hansen Scholars, and is funded by a $30 million gift to the University from the Hansen Little Foundation. According to the University of Melbourne Student Union (UMSU) welfare office, Little Hall will be an improvement on student living at the University and offers many benefits which other residential colleges do not.

“University colleges are very expensive … most colleges have 35-week contracts, whereas Little Hall offers 48-week contracts,” said Welfare Officers Natasha Guglielmino and Ashwin Chhaperia. Little Hall will also provide an Academic Enrichment Program to all residents that aims to support residents’ academic and career endeavours as well as personal welfare during their bachelor’s degree.

303 Royal Parade, another new residency opening ahead of Semester 1 2019, will be providing 285 rooms and high-quality facilities, and will be within close proximity to the Parkville campus.

“Less time spent on travel means students get more time to study at university and rest at home,” Guglielmino and Chhaperia said. Students would also save on overall living expenses as rent is all-inclusive.

They also highlighted “substandard conditions” that students reportedly still live in, even under “approved accommodation providers”, adding that many international and interstate students find themselves living in “shoddy and/or expensive accommodations”.

303 Royal Parade is part of the newly launched Melbourne Accommodation Program (MAP) which aims to aid students in finding the right accommodation. Through MAP, students can apply for multiple accommodations through a single application.