A specialist engineering university which welcomed its first students last year has announced a £5000 scholarship for every woman joining its undergraduate Master’s programme in integrated engineering this September, as part of an effort to help improve diversity in the sector.
The New Model Institute for Technology & Engineering’s ‘She / Her = Future Engineer’ scholarship aims to attract more women into the engineering profession. The Hereford based university was set up to pioneer new approaches to developing work-ready engineers.
Every student joining its Master’s Degree course in September 2022, regardless of gender or background, will receive a £2000 bursary with females and those identifying as female receiving a further £3000.
“The engineering industry has told us time and time again that there is desperate need for more diversity in the sector,” said NMITE President and CEO Professor Elena Rodriguez-Falcon. “NMITE has pledged to recruit a gender-equal student population, and these scholarships will enable us to attract a wider diversity of undergraduate engineers with greater gender representation.”
According to the Women’s Engineering Society, women account for only 14% of the engineering workforce in the UK and only 15% of engineering undergraduates in the UK are female.
A member of NMITE’s ‘pioneer cohort’ – the first group to enrol at the university last September – encouraged women interested in engineering to take up the scholarship opportunity. Natasha Tait said: “I switched to NMITE after beginning my engineering degree at a different university which wasn’t right for me. Moving university was a tough decision to make and I was concerned about finances, but I realised that NMITE was really the place I wanted to be. My experience so far has exceeded my expectations and I am excited to come in every day and learn.”
She added: “The scholarship funding will alleviate some of the worries about paying for higher education, as it did for me. I think any woman who wants to see a change in the world can find their chance to make that change at NMITE, so I encourage them to make the most of this opportunity.”
NMITE offers a number of other financial support options for future applicants, including means-tested bursaries and employer-funded scholarships which will be announced soon.
More information about scholarships and bursaries offered by the university can be found at https://nmite.ac.uk/bursary