Dakshitha Bashettyhalli Anandakumar, a doctoral student in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University, was awarded a Women in Technology Scholarship for the 2019-2020 academic year from Zonta International. 

Zonta International is a leading global organization of professionals empowering women worldwide through service and advocacy. Chosen from 135 applicants worldwide, 30 women from 22 countries, who are pursuing a technology degree or closely related program, demonstrated outstanding potential in the technology field and were selected for the scholarship.

Women make up about 20 percent of the workforce in the tech industry. To address this, Zonta International launched the Women in Technology Scholarship in 2019 to encourage women to pursue education, career opportunities and leadership roles in technology.

Six international Women in Technology Scholarship recipients were awarded US$10,000, while 24 district and region recipients received US$2,000. The money may be used for any expense that supports a degree or continuing advancement in technology or a closely related field.
 

2019 Women in Technology Scholarship International Recipients:

• Giorgia Di Tommaso, Italy Sapienza University of Rome

• Jessica Mc Broom, Australia, University of Sydney

• Lucy Pei, USA, University of California Irvine

• Amal Tawakuli, Luxembourg, University of Luxembourg

• Lindsey Tulloch, Canada, University of Waterloo

• Sedinam Wolanyo, Ghana, TechChange

2019 Women in Technology Scholarship District/Region Recipients:

• Dakshitha Bashettyhalli Anandakumar, India, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University

• Serpil Sarioglu Alpay, Turkey, Boğaziçi University

• Gabriella Behr, South Africa, Wagner Corporation

• Irene Björklund, Finland, Aalto University

• Gabriella Kelsch Bledsoe, USA, Michigan State University

• Amy Dixon, USA, Rocky Mountain College

• Kristina Dūdonytė, Lithuania, Alytus College

• Pegah Farshadmanesh, Iran, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

• Misha Fotovati, Canada, Marianopolis College

• Lina Habazi, USA, University of Houston

• Medina Hamidovic, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Johannes Kepler University

• Anouk Hubrechsen, The Netherlands, Eindhoven University of Technology

• Natella Jafarova, Canada, University of Victoria

• Saffron Jensen, USA, St. Cloud State University

• Helena Lundvall, Sweden, Uppsala University

• Lee Marletto, USA, Kent State University

• Katherine Oyarzo, Chile, Federico Santa Maria Technical University

• Irene Rechichi, Italy, Politecnico di Torino

• Audrey Isabel Pe, Philippines, British School Manila

• Nigar Rashida, Bangladesh, Deakin University

• Chiungtze Wang, Taiwan, ROC, National Chiao Tung University

• Hansika Weerasinghe, Sri Lanka, Hemas Holdings PLC

• Zheng Zhaomin, Japan, Carnegie Mellon University

• Angela Zuba, New Zealand, Whitireia Polytechnic

The Women in Technology Scholarship was introduced as a pilot program in 2019, the year Zonta International celebrated its 100th anniversary.

“We are in the midst of celebrating our Centennial Anniversary Biennium and I am so excited Zonta International began a pilot program to promote women in technology,” said Monica J. de la Cerda, Zonta Women in Technology Scholarship Committee chairman. “By participating in this endeavor, we can help to further shape the future for women and the impact and access they need to ensure they lead our next 100 years.”

 The Women in Technology Scholarship was funded by the Zonta International Foundation. More information about the program can be found at https://foundation.zonta.org/womenintech.

Zonta International (www.zonta.org) is a leading global organization of professionals empowering women worldwide through service and advocacy. On 8 November 2019, Zonta celebrated its 100th anniversary. In 1919, a small group of founders in Buffalo, New York, had a vision to help all women realize greater equality. Today, more than 28,000 members in 63 countries work together to make gender equality a worldwide reality for women and girls. Since 1923, Zonta International has provided more than US$41.2 million to empower women and girls and expand their access to education, health care, economic opportunities and safe living conditions.

Media Contact:
Walter Rich
Communications Manager
Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering
Georgia Institute of Technology