The ESA Diploma Scholarship was introduced in 2022 and has enabled four scholars to graduate with the Dip ESA qualification to date. We are delighted to announce an expanded cohort of three Scholars in 2025.
Following the successful experience of both Sinem Pozanti and Deji Faremi in 2024, Ashley Arthingal in 2023 and Nobandile Mutseyekwa in 2022, this year’s offer of free enrolment has been awarded to Jonathan Krumholz, Mandip Sehmi and Rory Bryant. Scroll down to discover more about them and their reflections on the opportunity.

Born in Mexico and based in the UK, Jonathan Krumholz started out as a law student and trainee, then transitioned into the sports industry after achieving a Master’s in Business & Economics. From working as a market trader he has grown in experience, working for both rights holders and sponsors while becoming a qualified football referee in his spare time. He is currently Sport Partnership Manager for Acronis.
Jonathan said: “I applied for the Diploma because I believe that the best way to grow as a person and as a professional is to always continue your learning journey and to invest your time in what makes you most passionate and become better at it.
“I think the ESA Diploma will provide me with all the theory behind marketing sponsorships, providing me with a stronger foundation to support my learnt knowledge and allowing me to become a better professional with a more comprehensive way to understand, plan and execute different projects/campaigns.
“On top of that, it will provide me with access to one of the most important networks in the industry, allowing me to get in touch and build relationships with colleagues within the industry, learning from their experiences and finding opportunities to create value together.
“I feel excited about starting the Diploma, full of energy and with a little bit of concern about being able to balance the work with studies and family, but confident that I’m surrounded by a strong network of support with family and ESA representatives.”
Mandip Sehmi is a three-time Paralympic athlete who works as Partnerships Lead for Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby, focusing on building partnerships to expand the outreach of sport by creating opportunities for athletes with disabilities as part of GBWR’s mission to lead, promote, and grow vibrant and inclusive wheelchair rugby communities and continually achieve success on the global stage.
Mandip said: “I’m absolutely delighted to have been awarded an ESA Diploma Scholarship. I am the Partnership Lead for Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby, a charity that creates opportunities for people with disabilities to take part in the only mixed gender, full chair contact, Paralympic sport! I applied for the scholarship to help further my career by improving my knowledge of the sponsorship space and how partnerships can drive meaningful impact, especially in disability sport.
“The ESA Diploma is a fantastic opportunity to learn from leaders in marketing and sponsorship industry. Having been recommended the course by my peers, the qualification will help me develop new skills, network and improve my ability to grow the commercial partnerships for GB Wheelchair Rugby.”
Rory Bryant has a background in motorsport, in which he both competed and played a lead role in partnership generation. He is now responsible for end-to-end management of all key commercial partnerships for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, supporting the delivery of the world’s largest performing arts festival and contributing to the cause of commercial sponsorship forming part of the solution to the sector’s funding challenges.
Rory said: “I feel incredibly privileged to have been awarded a Scholarship place on the ESA Diploma. As a sponsorship professional working within our fragile cultural sector, the need to forge positive, long-term commercial partnerships has never been greater.
“The chance to study the sponsorship industry’s leading training qualification is an amazing opportunity to develop my skills and knowledge, which I hope will ultimately help me to play my small part in protecting and developing our cultural assets. Thank you to ESA for this brilliant opportunity; I can’t wait to progress through the course and meet fantastic colleagues from across the sponsorship industry!“