Alcoa offers engineering scholarship to women for next three years

ALCOA of Australia is continuing its long-running support for aspiring female engineers by extending its ground-breaking scholarship program.

Alcoa was the first company to initiate specific scholarships for women studying engineering at Curtin University more than a decade ago, inspiring other companies to offer similar opportunities.

Under its latest agreement with Curtin, the Alcoa Bev Corless Women in Engineering Scholarships will be offered for the next three years.

The scholarships, named in honour of a former Alcoa engineer, aim to increase the number of females in the profession while also promoting the integration of sustainability into engineering planning and design.

Previous recipient of the scholarship and current Alcoa Graduate Chemical Engineer Katie Marshall, urged students to apply saying the honour and financial support from the scholarship gave her a head start in her engineering career.

“Receiving the scholarship was the start of an invaluable relationship with Alcoa,” she said.

“It paved the way to completing my vacation work at Alcoa’s Wagerup alumina refinery, which created the opportunity to complete my thesis project with Alcoa’s Centre of Excellence.

“Now, I’m back at Wagerup working as a graduate and looking forward to a long-lasting career with the company.”

The latest one-year scholarships, valued at $5000 each, are open to full-time female students at Curtin University enrolled in their second, third, fourth or fifth year of studies.

Eligible engineering courses include Civil and Construction, Chemical, Electrical and Electronic, Mechanical, Mechatronic, Mining, and Metallurgical.

Applicants should demonstrate academic merit, leadership skills, a passion for their course of study, and interest in fields aligned to Alcoa career opportunities.

Applications close on March 15.