By Marie Coady
Female undergraduate engineering students can now apply for scholarships to a prestigious summer engineering academy at the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria, NUI Galway has announced.
The International Summer Academy in Engineering for Women (ISAE4W) is described as an “intensive programme combining theory with hands-on practical experience in engineering, informatics and natural sciences.” It is offered to only 30 female students from 15 different countries, with a maximum acceptance of four students from each institution and two students from each specialisation. The programme will take place in Wels, Austria for two and a half weeks, from 9 to 24 July 2019.
The course content is delivered through English and is based upon thematic areas of Natural Sciences, Engineering and Technology, and Computer Sciences and Informatics. Additional lectures, laboratories and seminars will cover issues such as ‘Applied Sciences in Theory and Practice’ and ‘Women in Engineering’. Students will also be offered opportunities to go on field trips to companies like fire-service vehicle manufacturer Rosenbauer, museums like Ars Electronica Center, and cultural highlights in Upper Austria. The programme is worth 4 ECTS.
Mary Dempsey, Senior Lecturer at the School of Engineering and Informatics, NUI Galway, said of the scholarships and ISAE4W: “This is a super opportunity for young female students involved in the sciences and engineering. Those interested in pursuing a career or further studies in this area get a unique chance to broaden their technical and scientific knowledge, to develop international contacts and to experience learning in a creative and fun way.”
Since 2017, six NUI Galway students have obtained scholarships from the University to attend the Academy, including Biomedical student Aoife Fitzgerald. She said: “I thoroughly enjoyed my time there. Coming from a biomedical background I learnt a lot about the field of engineering that I did not know before. It really broadened my knowledge and changed the way I think about a variety of topics. I met girls from all over the world, learning about loads of different types of cultures. It is an experience I will never forget. We visited so many different places here that I would love to return to again one day.”
The scholarships are worth €1000 each, which will part-fund the cost of participating in the Academy. The deadline for applications for the scholarships is 30 April 2019. Applicants will be notified by the University of Applied Sciences about the outcome of the review and selection-process around the end of May 2019. More information about the programme in general can be found at the ISAE4W website at www.fh-ooe.at/index.php?id=6780&L=1.
