AusNet Services are partnering with Deakin University to provide scholarships to female engineering students.
The AusNet Services Women in Power Engineering Scholarships will support women to achieve tertiary qualifications in power engineering, and prepare them for diverse and rewarding careers in the energy industry.
AusNet Services’ Managing Director, Nino Ficca, said the company understands the importance of encouraging talented women to enter the energy industry, in which they are vastly under-represented.
“We are proud to offer these scholarships, which form a key part of our efforts to increase the diversity of our business and the energy sector,” Mr Ficca said.
“The successful scholarship recipients will not only receive financial support, but mentoring opportunities and workplace experience at AusNet Services. They’ll also be some of the first students to learn in the recently opened state-of-the-art Centre for Advanced Design in Engineering Training (CADET) at Deakin University’s Waurn Ponds campus.”
Mr Ficca said the scholarships complement AusNet Services’ Apprentice and Training program and Women’s Career Development program, which were started in 2005 and 2012 respectively.
Through these programs AusNet has trained more than 50 graduates, 260 apprentices and 90 women.
The CADET Centre in particular was built to enable engineering students to experience real-world scenarios through project-based learning.
The scholarships will be awarded to successful female applicants entering Deakin’s Bachelor of Electrical and Electronics Engineering (Honours) degree. Each scholarship is valued at $10,000 per year over the normal period of study.
Eight Women in Power Engineering scholarships will be awarded as part of a broader five year partnership between AusNet Services and Deakin University that also includes two PhD scholarships and a postdoctoral research position.
The partnership will also involve a workshop for academics and industry leaders in early February at Deakin University, to explore ways to encourage girls to consider power engineering as a career pathway.
AusNet Services’ Managing Director, Nino Ficca and General Manager, People, Safety and Customer, Geraldine Leslie will be participating in the workshop, which will be hosted by Deakin University.
