The opportunity came around after EMD UK, the national governing body for group exercise, said they would be providing funding opportunities for universities in England to run group classes for underrepresented groups.

This will include the disabled and those from low socio-economic backgrounds.

Following the announcement, many universities applied for funding and it has now been announced that EMD, which stands for Exercise, Move, Dance, will offer cash to 12 universities to fulfill a variety of exercise projects.

An example of one of these projects is the "International Dance Off" campaign run by Keele University, which will host a celebration of international dance and a showcase of diverse culture.

Additionally, the University of Birmingham will run free exercise classes especially catered for disabled people.

The classes will feature wheelchair-based group exercise as well as a class designed for deaf participants.

EMD UK business development manager Lucy Carpenter said she was impressed with the ideas the universities had put forward for funding.

"It is really positive to see so many students, societies and staff accessing the funding to create a more active nation within their university community," she said.

"I felt really inspired reading the applications and overall EMD UK were really impressed with the engaging and well thought out bids submitted within such a short deadline."

BUCS development manager Amy Seaman added: "It's great that universities have been given this opportunity to target underrepresented groups within their institutions through group exercise.

"The variety of projects that this funding will support is fantastic and I look forward to seeing the impact this has on the higher education sector becoming more physically active."