80 Microsoft YouthSpark scholarships worth 600 USD per student, along with many skills and professional training courses, which will be provided to 80 female students in IT and Computer Science faculties at eight universities throughout the country.
Inspires more female students to study Information Technology
Like many other children, Le Thị Mai was given the opportunity to go to school despite her difficult situation. This period of education despite economic struggles continued until Mai was in the ninth grade. Injured in a train accident, Mai’s father was no longer able to work. Mai decided to take a year off school in order to care for her sister and brother, and help at her family’s farm.
After one year, Mai returned to school. She began to study hard to make her dream of studying IT at Hanoi University of Science and Technology come true. But after two years, Mai decided to leave school for the second time to take care of her sister who just entered university.
Mai thought that she would have to drop out of school for the third time when her brother passed the entrance exam. But at that time, Mai luckily received the Microsoft YouthSpark scholarship. “I can’t describe that moment when my mother and I cried out in happiness.”
“The amount of support, the many training programs, and the many relationships I have had during the course of the scholarship have completely changed my life.”
Le Thị Mai (left) participated in an event for scholarship recipients.
Tran Thi Kim Ngan is another female student who received the Microsoft YouthSpark Scholarship. Ngan is a sophomore majoring in Technology Science at Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology. She comes from a challenging situation.
Ngan grew up without a father. Both she and her mother have disabilities. Ngan lives with her mother, her sibling and her uncle’s family. Her family’s income is based on only 50,000 VND from the sale of her mother’s lottery tickets. They can eat today, but often worry about tomorrow.
Ngan passed the entrance exam for the faculty of Computer Science at the HCM City University of Technology. But it was very difficult for her to go to a college far away from home – especially with the cost of moving, studying expenses, and an intensive program. She does not have much time to care for herself and her family. Ngan believes that this field will help her find the right job and prove that she is a strong woman – disabled, but not useless.
The $600 scholarship helped me pay for my tuition. That is very important to my family. The activities improved my skills, gave me professional training, allowed me to interact with successful people in my profession, helped me feel more confident, and helped my mother feel less anxious since I left home,” said Ngan.
80 opportunities in 2017
Both Mai and Ngan have received the Microsoft YouthSpark Scholarship – a scholarship for female students studying Computer Science and IT created to encourage women to pursue fields in which men typically dominate.
The scholarship is worth 600 USD per student, is funded by the Microsoft Corporation, and supported in Viet Nam by the Center for Education and Development. With this money, female students like Mai and Ngan can pay one year’s tuition fee and take some additional courses.
Furthermore, the Microsoft YouthSpark scholarship not only provides financial support for female students but also regularly organizes training activities to support professional knowledge, soft skills sessions, and meet and greets with important speakers from the IT and computer science industries.
The female students from Microsoft YouthSpark Scholarship program participated in Microsoft Office 365 training.
“After graduating, students who received the scholarship said that active participation in the program’s activities equipped them with practical knowledge and skills to help them be more confident and thus have more employment opportunities. They have opportunities to learn from professionals – interacting and sharing with successful women in the fields of science and technology. That has inspired the students and made them more confident in their choice,” shared Ms. To Kim Lien, Director of the Center for Education and Development.
In the 2017-18 school year, the Microsoft YouthSpark Scholarship began receiving applications from July 1st, 2017 to September 10th, 2017. For more information about the scholarship, please visit: http://www.hocbongnusinh.com/hoc-bong-microsoft-youthspark-2017-2018.html
Doãn Phong/Vietnamnet
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