06 May Romford student helps launch new Amazon programme
The Royal Academy of Engineering is working with Amazon to launch a new Amazon Future Engineer bursary scheme in the UK. Twelve awards, worth £5,000 a year for up to four years, will be made available to students progressing from A level or technical education courses to university for the 2021/22 academic year. The new bursaries will help students who demonstrate a drive and passion for computing and engineering, and an understanding of how innovation and creativity in these fields can help solve some of the world’s greatest challenges.
Women are still significantly underrepresented in engineering and technology in higher education. UCAS data on university application and acceptance figures for the 2020 cycle highlighted that women represent just 16% and 18% of accepted applications to computing and engineering degrees respectively. At the current rate of progress, parity of women in engineering degrees will not be achieved until 2085.
Riddhi Patel is a second-year student at King’s College London, studying Computer Science. She’s taking a four-year course, including a year in industry gap after her second year.
Growing up in Romford, East London, Riddhi was always passionate about technology: “I used to watch BBC Click with my Dad when I was 10 years old, and I always loved the mystery of what I was seeing. From then on, I kept up an interest, reading about the latest trends like machine learning, and eventually that led me to choose to study Computer Science at university.”
She started in September 2019 at King’s College London, and accessed the Amazon Future Engineer bursary after her first year: “I was completely blown away at first, as I didn’t realise Amazon offered these programs. It really came at the right time too, as due to the pandemic my Dad could no longer work and this was causing me stress as I felt pressure to work more.”
“The bursary has allowed me to focus more of my energy towards studying and contributing to group projects, and while I am still in part-time paid employment, the bursary has shifted my attitude on working from something I have to do, to something I do because I enjoy it.”
Riddhi also now has extra time to teach coding to first year students as a teaching assistant, which she loves, and wants to explore further: “Currently, I’m thinking about becoming a technology consultant after I graduate as the role marries my passion for technology with my love of meeting and collaborating with new people.”
Amazon Future Engineer bursaries are open to students enrolling onto courses such as electrical and electronic engineering, computer science, artificial intelligence and software engineering in the UK. The bursaries will focus on areas of the UK that have been identified as social mobility cold spots—places in the country where opportunities and outcomes for young people need improving. Awardees will be invited to attend annual networking and training weekends and will have access to a community forum providing support from the Royal Academy of Engineering and Amazon. They will also receive news of available internships, as well as mentoring and funding to help them progress from university into engineering and computing careers.
The bursary scheme is part of Amazon Future Engineer, Amazon’s comprehensive childhood-to-career programme to inspire, educate and enable children and young adults from lower-income backgrounds to try computer science and related engineering courses.
