SA woman wins BlackBerry scholarship

Wednesday, 18 September 2013 00:00 Written by Staff writer
A South African woman is one of 10 who received a full four-year university tuition scholarship from BlackBerry to pursue her studies in the fields of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) at Coventry University, in the UK.

Tafadzwa Makaza, originally from Johannesburg, will pursue her honours degree in electrical and electronic engineering.

The BlackBerry Scholars Programme, which was announced in May at BlackBerry Live, received more than 500 applications from 65 countries, over a two-month period.

The 10 recipients were selected by a panel of accomplished women leaders on the basis of academic merit and passion for entering the mobile computing industry.

According to BlackBerry, the programme was designed to inspire women in STEM fields, as they are vastly underrepresented in these industries.

In addition to meeting competitive academic criteria, showcasing extracurricular involvement and providing recommendation letters, applicants were asked to explain how they plan to make their mark on the world, highlight someone who has inspired them, and explore what a future in mobile computing means to them.

Other students selected include four from the US, three from Canada, one from the UK, and one from Vietnam.