“While today there are more female technology leaders in India compared to a decade ago, most women still see a barrier to choosing STEM as their career and need support and encouragement,” said Prasanna Anireddy, VP, Engineering, Progress. “With our annual scholarship, we want to show them that the IT world values and supports diversity in talent and there is a future for them in it. We’re optimistic – each year we see more and more driven young women, eager to continue their education in STEM and contribute to the technology industry.”
The Akanksha Scholarship is a four‐year, renewable scholarship of up to INR 1,50,000 (roughly $2,000) annually to cover tuition, fees, and educational expenses. It’s open for women, or those who identify as women, who reside in India and are pursuing an undergraduate degree in computer science, computer information systems, software engineering and/or IT. Candidates must also excel academically and exemplify courage, conscientiousness, resilience, and excellence.
The Women in STEM Scholarship series is part of Progress’ Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program, Progress for Tomorrow, and offers three distinct scholarships in the U.S., Bulgaria, and India. Through the initiative, Progress aims to increase the global representation of women in the fields of computer science, software engineering, IT and/or computer information systems.
Progress operates with a “people-centric” mindset and strives to provide an inclusive work environment where every employee has a sense of belonging. This mindset is the anchor of the company’s CSR program, which includes initiatives dedicated to inclusion, diversity and human rights, social justice, STEM education, emergency relief and environmental sustainability.
With nearly 400 employees in India, Progress continues to grow its teams, attracting and developing diverse talent to spur innovation and help its customers leverage the power of technology to propel their businesses forward. The company has established teams developing industry-leading technologies for application development, database management and data connectivity, as well as DevOps and DevSecOps products, leveraged by thousands of enterprises worldwide.
