News
| 11 August 2022

Diversity scholarships awarded in Tasmania

Three future engineers have been awarded 2022 Driving Diversity for Women in Engineering Scholarships at a Hydro Tasmania workshop. 

The $5000 scholarships are awarded to a young woman entering their first year of an engineering qualification with a focus on providing opportunities for young women to enter the profession. 

Scholarship recipients for 2022:  

  • Hannah Ireland, St Michaels Collegiate 
  • Mena McLeod, St Michaels Collegiate 
  • Hannah Goss, Newstead College 

Darren Beattie, Engineers Australia General Manager for Tasmania says, "research clearly shows that greater diversity in the workforce leads to better outcomes. With currently only 13 per cent of the engineering workforce being female, we need to work hard to change that.” 

Findings from this year’s Women in Engineering report show the biggest reason girls don’t choose to study engineering is that they simply don’t know what engineering is, and what engineers do.  

“Increasing awareness of engineering as a career option along with improving education and support for girls in STEM subjects through primary and secondary studies will be key drivers in seeing participation rates rise,” Darren says. 

Through these scholarships, Engineers Australia can continue to support and promote initiatives to enhance career pathways and improve gender diversity in the industry. 

Darren says the scholarships help reduce the financial pressure of doing university studies, allowing students to be more selective in how they spend their free time.  

“Less time spent working casual jobs can be used to focus more on their studies.  

“Along with the financial benefits scholarship recipients receive, there is the recognition and prestige associated with being awarded a scholarship, which can be added to their resume... not to mention the strong ties to industry so early in their studies,” Darren says.  

As in previous years, there were a high calibre of submissions for this years’ scholarships Darren says “it was great to meet the recipients and hear about their journeys towards a career pathway in engineering.  

“We look forward to continuing to work with our industry partners in supporting a diverse and inclusive profession.”