Newcastle student receives national Amazon bursary

The Royal Academy of Engineering and Amazon have announced the 2022 recipients of Amazon Future Engineer bursaries to study computer science and related engineering courses at UK universities.

The awards, which provide a support package of up to £20,000, have been granted to women students from low-income households who demonstrate a drive and passion for computing and engineering, and an understanding of how innovation and creativity in these fields can help solve some of the world’s greatest challenges.

The Amazon Future Engineer bursaries aim to help address underrepresentation and accelerate the rate of progress women are significantly underrepresented in engineering and technology in higher education.

UCAS data on university application and acceptance figures for the 2021 cycle highlighted that women represent just 16 per cent and 18 per cent of accepted applications to computer science and engineering degrees respectively. At the current rate of progress, parity of women in engineering degrees will still not be achieved until 2085.

Farheen Mehmood, who is studying BSc Computer Science at Newcastle University, is one of 31 women students across the UK to receive the bursary this year. More information on Farheen and the bursary programme is included below, and there’s a picture of Farheen attached.

The Amazon Future Engineer bursary, supported by the Royal Academy of Engineering, provides a support package of up to £20,000 to women students from low-income households progressing from A Level, or technical education courses to university education.

The awards have been granted to women students from low-income households who demonstrate a drive and passion for computing and engineering, and an understanding of how innovation and creativity in these fields can help solve some of the world’s greatest challenges.

Alongside the financial support, successful candidates are matched with an industry mentor, and provided with training and networking opportunities. During their time on the programme, awardees can expect to collaborate with like-minded peers, as well as meeting leading engineers, who’ll inspire them to think big and make their voices heard in their chosen fields.

By Mark Adair – Correspondent, Bdaily