Since 2012, almost €250,000 has been invested in the Intel Women in Technology program
Pictured are the recipients of the 2016 Intel Women in Technology award
At a special ceremony held in Dublin last night, Intel Ireland unveiled the 2016 Women in Technology scholars as well as the recipients of a new Women in Technology award.
This is the fifth year of the Women in Technology program for Intel in Leixlip where the initiative was introduced following the success of the same program which has been supported by Intel in Shannon since 2006.
The scholarship program aims to encourage a new generation of high-achieving women to take up the challenge of a career in science and technology. The program forms part of a wider focus by Intel on empowering girls and women by fostering educational opportunities and encouraging women to participate, prosper, and lead in the global economy.
Intel has worked closely over the last number of months with both local schools and a number of universities and institutes of technology to share details of the initiative and encourage applications from women embarking on third level education. The program once again received a fantastic response and 2016 saw the highest number of applications to date.
Intel in Leixlip this year awarded a total of 16 new scholarships bringing the total number of scholars to 45 with a total investment in the program since it began in 2012 of almost €250,000.
Each of the participants are studying a Science, Engineering or Technology course in either Trinity College Dublin, University College Dublin, University College Cork, NUI Galway or Institute of Technology Tallaght.
This year scholarships were awarded by numerous business groups across Intel in Leixlip including fab operations, silicon design, manufacturing validation and research. 16 new Women in Technology scholarships were presented.
The scholarship program offers a monetary grant valued at €3,000 per annum as well as opportunities for work placements at the Intel Leixlip campus. Each scholar is also assigned a mentor who is an Intel employee to assist and provide advice on managing their academic career. The program is open to school leavers entering undergraduate degrees in relevant courses.
The ceremony last night also included the inaugural presentation of a new Intel Women in Technology award which was presented to a number high achieving students who had recently graduated from technical disciplines at Institutes of Technology across Ireland.
9 women, who had completed Level 6 or 7 qualifications, received the new award, which involves a monetary payment, and each were selected based on academic excellence.
Speaking about the Women in Technology programs at the presentation event, Sarah Sexton, Intel Public Affairs, said
“We fundamentally believe, and it has been proven time and time again, that our business benefits from having diverse employees. We are delighted to present these awards and we congratulate all of the recipients and their families. Women are under-represented in the technology workplace and this program creates an important opportunity for us to encourage more young women to pursue careers in science and technology, as well as giving them firsthand experience of the career opportunities at Intel”.
Look out for further details on www.intel.ie of Women in Technology Scholarships and Awards in the New Year.
