.PT, the manager of the Portuguese top-level domain, has launched the "Geração STEM .PT" scholarship program, aimed at girls and women who choose to build their academic career in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Each scholarship is worth five thousand euros, paid directly to the student, and five scholarships are available in this first edition, supported by .PT, REN, NTT DATA and Huawei.
The scholarships are intended for female students, with nationality of any European country or a valid residence permit, enrolled in undergraduate or master's degree courses at higher education institutions in Portugal, in technological and engineering fields. Applications are open until October 9, results will be announced on November 13, and the scholarships will be awarded at a ceremony to be held at the end of the same month.
Luísa Ribeiro Lopes, president of the board of directors of .PT, highlighted that the initiative aims to change the current reality, in which only 22.3% of Information and Communication Technology specialists in Portugal are women, despite this figure being above the European average. The executive emphasized the desire to see more women "in the engine room, creating, deciding and leading," considering the technological sector to be decisive for the country's future.
Applications will be evaluated by a jury comprising people from academia, the business sector, Public Administration and civil society, considering criteria such as academic merit, motivation and personal project, socioeconomic condition, civic and extracurricular merit, as well as geographic diversity. The program was designed to be ongoing and to mobilize new partner entities, with the goal of progressively increasing the presence of women in STEM and ICT fields.
