The 9th VERBUND Women's Stipend has been awarded by VERBUND to students of the TU Vienna

The percentage of women in technical professions is still minimal. By awarding the VERBUND Women's Stipend, with which three versatile and committed female students are supported for one year, VERBUND is consciously contributing towards the promotion of talented women in their technical training and offering them a chance for additional personal and specialised training to complement their basic university training.

"Excellent achievements arise from the interplay of diverse talents. Particularly in the technical sector, however, women are still underrepresented. With the VERBUND Women's Stipend we aim to systematically encourage talented women and support them with their technical training. In this way, we as a company are investing in our own future, because it is important to us to attract more qualified female technicians to VERBUND", explains Georg Westphal, Head of Strategic Personnel Management.

"Great future and career opportunities present themselves to committed and talented people in technical professions. Raising an awareness of technical professional fields and training courses, and increasingly kindling women's interest in them, is therefore an important economic and sociopolitical goal. The VERBUND Stipend recipients demonstrate impressively with what success women professionally pursue their passion for technology, and as such function as positive role models for many who have yet to choose their study or professional path. For this reason it is with great pleasure that we are supporting the VERBUND Women's Stipend already for the ninth time", as Birgit Wenczel, Project Manager at the TU Career Center, emphasises.

The VERBUND Stipend recipients

The three winners convinced the selection jury with excellent academic performances, practical and international experience, and with great social competence. Bachelor candidate Monika Zofal, Master candidate Verena Hammerschmidt and PhD candidate Magda Mirescu are the proud recipients of the VERBUND Women's Stipend.

Bachelor stipend recipient Monika Zofal from Sommerein (Lower Austria) is studying Technical Mathematics. What fascinates her about her field of study? "You learn to approach problems in a completely new way, and to put even abstract-sounding things into a structure and to solve problems that way." After completing her studies, she hopes to conduct research in the area of technology and develop something new or improve something existing.

Master stipend recipient Verena Hammerschmidt from Hard (Vorarlberg) is studying Civil Engineering. What makes the stipend special for her is that experts will assist and support her over the course of one year. "By receiving this stipend, I can develop in a direction that interests me and that has potential. VERBUND implements ideals with which I can identify, and for that reason as well, I view this cooperation as a great enrichment for me", Hammerschmidt is convinced.

PhD stipend recipient Magda Mirescu, originally from Bucharest, is a student of Technical Mathematics. She applied for the VERBUND Women's Stipend because it is a unique opportunity for her to attain several goals at the same time. "In the first place it is an excellent further training opportunity with which I can develop further on both a professional and a personal level. Secondly, the VERBUND Women's Stipend enjoys a certain degree of recognition, which can make it possible for me to speak to younger women and perhaps to convince them of technical studies and kindle their interest. Thirdly, it makes it possible for me to get to know the VERBUND corporation beyond my first impressions of a technophilic company that takes measures to promote women," says Mirescu.

Comprehensive multi-step selection process

32 highly qualified female TU students applied for the VERBUND Women's Stipend. The applicants first completed a telephone interview. The best qualified participants were invited to a hearing. In the course of the selection process, the three winners had to convince a prestigious jury composed of HR experts and top managers from VERBUND, as well as experts from the TU Career Center, through giving presentations and taking part in team exercises, among other things.

Customised career planning

VERBUND and the TU Career Center will develop individual support packages in cooperation with the three stipend recipients. These will include selected specialist conferences and seminars for personal development. In addition, the students will receive benefits in kind, such as specialist books or travel costs, and reimbursement for the semester ticket for public transport.