For the sixth time, the VERBUND women's scholarship has been awarded to female students from the TU Vienna.

As part of the TU jobs fair "TUday14" the VERBUND women's scholarship was today awarded to three outstanding female students at the TU Vienna. The winners may enjoy tailored financial support for their careers for an entire academic year.

The proportion of women in technical occupations is still very low. With the awarding of the VERBUND women's scholarship, with which three very dynamically committed students can receive support for an entire academic year, VERBUND is specifically contributing to supporting talented women in their technical education. VERBUND makes it possible for the winners to receive additional personal and technical further training beyond the daily world of university, with the VERBUND women's scholarship.

"Excellent performance is a result of the interplay of many talents. We are convinced that women are extremely valuable to our company. Particularly in the technical field, women are still under-represented. The specific funding for talented women is of great importance for us. VERBUND therefore actively supports the education of women in the technical field and has been awarding the VERBUND women's scholarship at the Technical University of Vienna since 2009" says Georg Westphal, divisional director of strategic personnel management, explaining VERBUND's commitment to the scheme.

"The demand for highly-qualified employees is still high in the technical field. A particular challenge is also to inspire more enthusiasm in women for the technical field. Female students are still under-represented in technical education and this is the case all the way to the top of engineering companies; female employees are a scarce commodity. In order to combat this trend, initiatives are needed to encourage women in technical fields and to increase the attractiveness of technical education and the professional image. The awarding of the VERBUND women's scholarship sends out an important message to all women who are interested in technology and that is that their commitment will be encouraged and their advancement in the field will be supported", says Helene Czanba, Managing Director at the TU career centre, who emphasises the significance of this initiative from VERBUND in the service of promoting women.

"This year's scholarship recipients also impressively demonstrate the high levels of enthusiasm with which they carry out their studies and the how passionately they go about applying their knowledge in a practical way. Their example should display what great possibilities there are available for women in the field of technology. This is exactly why we at the career centre at the TU Vienna, are very proud this year to be able to support and accompany this VERBUND women's scholarship for the sixth time", says Czanba.

Comprehensive Multi-level Selection Process

44 highly-qualified TU female students applied for the VERBUND women's scholarship. The applicants had to pass a telephone interview and subsequently, the best qualified applicants were invited to a hearing. During this, the three winners had to provide convincing arguments to a high-calibre jury of HR experts, the top management at VERBUND as well as experts from the TU career centre.

The VERBUND Scholarship Recipients

The three winners provided convincing statements with their excellent student achievements, experience and experience abroad as well as through their high social competence. Bachelor student Julia Linert, Masters student Cornelia Steiner and PhD student Irina Kampel are the three proud winners of the VERBUND women's scholarship. The HR experts from VERBUND and the TU career centre will now develop a tailored support package together with the three scholarship recipients. The reimbursement of costs will come in the form of financing, for example, books, student-relevant expenses, personal development, expert conferences including travel costs as well as semester tickets for public transport.

Julia Linert, Bachelor scholarship recipient from Vienna, is in her 4th semester of electrical engineering and information technology at the TU Vienna. She is pleased about the scholarship and explains enthusiastically: "I would like to invest my scholarship in particular in seminars for personal development and for visiting conferences, in order to further educate myself technically. The scholarship will help me, as a strong and dynamic woman, to be representative in the field of technology."

Master's scholarship recipient Cornelia Steiner, was born in Tyrol and grew up in Carinthia. She decided to study electrical engineering and information technology at the TU Vienna after her A-levels and emphasises: "It always fascinates me how people take for granted the many technical instruments which are used in our day-to-day life- for example electromagnetic propellers in washing machines or vacuum cleaners. When I found out about the newsletter advertising the VERBUND women's scholarship, I didn't hesitate for long and immediately applied".

Phd scholarship recipient Irina Kampel from Vienna, is doing her doctorate in Civil Engineering. She welcomes the initiative to attract more women to technical study paths: "I would be very pleased to meet more female students in my studies, because I have experienced that especially female students are often particularly committed." Regarding her motivation behind her application for the VERBUND women's scholarship, she explains: "Just the personal experience gained from the application process was reason enough for me to apply for the scholarship!".