Imperial hosts new international scholarships for women in STEM

Imperial will host a new scholarship programme for international female scientists.

The scholarship programme will see Imperial offer places for Masters students from countries in the Americas. The programme is funded by the British Council and designed to enable more women to pursue scientific study at top universities.

The full scholarships will cover full tuition fees, monthly stipends, a return economy class ticket and other study-related costs such as English exam fees, visa application and NHS surcharge.

The programme will offer a range of Masters courses in areas including: Health and Life-Sciences, Climate Change, Energy Transition, Environment, Agriculture and Industry 4.0.

Eligible countries for the scholarships include: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Jamaica, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela.

The wider British Council programme is also available to students from South and South East Asia.

The courses will start in Autumn 2021 and will offer students economic support including tuition fees, stipend, travel costs, visa and health coverage fees.

Imperial's Vice President, Professor Maggie Dallman, said: "As a world-leading STEM university with a reputation for internationalism and impact we are thrilled to host these new scholarships.

"From our work in local schools and communities to our international partnerships and outreach we are determined to do more to support women and girls working in STEM fields.

"These scholarships will enable female scientists to study on a range of excellent courses aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). They will also benefit from programmes such as WE Innovate, an entrepreneurship programme with one main goal – to increase the number of women in leadership positions, running start-ups and raising funding."

Find out more and apply for the scholarships

Student successes

"Since Imperial's qualifications are highly regarded by international employers, the Masters course helped position myself as a world class recognised environmental professional. Tania Castillo Guido MSc Environmental Technology

Imperial has the highest proportion of world-leading and internationally excellent research of any UK university.

Imperial also has strong connections with many countries in the Americas.

This includes research partnerships with other universities and industry and a thriving alumni network.

We spoke to some recent Imperial graduates from the scholarship participating countries to find out why they chose to study at Imperial and what they gained from the experience.

Argentina

Melania Tarquino, MSc Environmental Policy (2018) Centre for Environmental Policy, said: "I am convinced that having studied in such a prestigious and well-regarded institution was a key factor when finding my past and current jobs and being able to escalate my career so swiftly. 

"I really enjoyed the mixture of theoretical classes and practical ones, particularly when having some classes and seminars taught directly by guest experts working on the different fields we could specialise on, enabling us to learn from real-life practical examples and current projects."

Brazil

Isabella Maluf Vasconcellos, MEng Chemical Engineering, 2011 (Department of Chemical Engineering) is currently working as an Associate Partner at McKinsey.

Isabella said: "I chose Imperial because of its reputation for excellence in my field and the opportunity to learn from professors who were top of their field."

Ligia Marchiore Gomes, MSc Petroleum Engineering, (ESE) 2015, said: "During the time I studied there I could see by myself the reason for Imperial’s amazing reputation, all the professors are outstanding, the lectures are outstanding and the program itself is amazingly put together."

Colombia

Diana Carrero, MSc Advanced Chemical Engineering (2014), said: "Being a graduate from Imperial has given me many tools within my career, due to its international recognition it has enabled me to pursue my next steps as post-graduate. In my current job as Process Engineer,  I apply my Master’s knowledge and I use tools that I learnt at Imperial.

"My highlights of studying at Imperial were the things you learn within the classes but also outside it, the people you meet which give you a multicultural background, the network you build are the most valuable things you can get from such an experience."

Jamaica

Shalini Jagnarine-Azan, Jamaica, MSc General Structural Engineering, 2008 (Civil Engineering), said: "When I attended in 2007-2008, Imperial was one of the top 5 universities in the world for structural engineering.

"A degree from this prestigious university sets your CV apart. This opened a lot of doors to meeting fellow alumni and it still does to this day. The degree is challenging. Preparing, working and succeeding in a degree from Imperial helps to mould your character and your ability to succeed in life."

Mexico

Andrea Orozco, Mexico, MSc Finance, 2018, (Business School), said: "I chose imperial because it is one of the best universities in the world, its MSc Finance programme was ranked among the top, and it seemed like a big challenge to me. It provides a highly quantitative focus, and a great opportunity to submerge in a diverse and multicultural environment. I also valued the experience of living in a city such as London, that is an important world centre for finance.

Imperial helped me land and internship in Bank of America Merryll Lynch for the summer, and later a full-time position in Santander Mexico where I currently work. It was certainly a big determinant in my chances to work there."

Peru

Tania Castillo Guido, Peru, MSc Environmental Technology, 2018 (Centre for Environmental Policy) is currently role working as a project leader, at Senace, Ministry of the Environment.

Tania said: "I chose Imperial because I wanted to experience first-hand what it felt like to study in one of the best universities of the world.

"Since Imperial's qualifications are highly regarded by international employers, the Masters course helped position myself as a world class recognised environmental professional. Imperial opened global opportunities for me."

Carmen Fernandez Ardiles, Peru, MSc Taxonomy and Biodiversity, (Life Sciences), 2018, said: "Imperial enabled me to find a job within the next six months of arriving in Peru, also it gave me connections with people in the biodiversity field work.

"The content of the course was broad and deep enough to learn more about scientific collections and apply it at the herbarium in Arequipa where I'm one of the founders and volunteer work." 

Venezuela

Barbara Primera Darwich, MSc Advanced Chemical Engineering, 2017 (Department of Chemical Engineering) said: "The atmosphere of such a dynamic university has become an environment I am comfortable with and has impacted my view of what a productive and nurturing work environment should look like."

Research partnerships

Imperial also has a number of existing partnerships with countries in the Americas. 

Imperial's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering works with a number of partners in Peru on projects relating to both water resources management and earthquake engineering. 

The College's Department of Chemical Engineering has a programme with SENER, the Mexican Secretariat of Energy to fund projects in fuel cells, carbon capture and renewables.

The College also has a number of partnerships in Brazil focusing on how rainforest ecosystems work, including the effects of changes in land-use such as deforestation.

APPLY FOR THE BRITISH COUNCIL SCHOLARSHIPS FOR WOMEN IN STEM AT IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON