The Anita Borg Institute Grants Scholarships in Support of Women Studying Computer Science

PALO ALTO, CA--(Marketwired - Oct 7, 2014) - The Anita Borg Institute (ABI), a non-profit organization focused on the advancement of women in computing, today announced 425 scholarship awards for female computer science and engineering students and faculty from around the world to attend the 2014 Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing (GHC), October 8-10, 2014 in Phoenix, Arizona.

The scholarship program fits well into the 2014 theme for GHC, "Everyone. Everywhere." GHC 2014 will focus on the ubiquity of computing in society today, and the need to include diverse groups in the innovation process. The event features sessions on cutting edge research, professional development, technical innovation, and organizational change.

In recent years, growing concern over the small percentage of women working in computer science and engineering fields has led to a greater focus on the educational pipeline. In addition to working with university programs like Harvey Mudd College, ABI grants GHC scholarships to drive interest among young women to pursue degrees and careers in the high tech industry. At GHC, the scholarship winners have the opportunity to meet young professionals for guidance, attend the Career Fair with over 200 organizations recruiting women technologists, and hear from leaders from a variety of technology organizations.

"Grace Hopper not only gave me inspiration -- happily it allowed me to meet many old friends and new amazing friends," said 2014 GHC scholar Yasmin AlNaomany, recalling her experience at GHC in 2013. "It also allowed me to discuss my research idea with many senior women, and get positive feedback about it."

This year, ABI saw an unprecedented growth in the number of scholarship applicants, receiving more than 1400 applications, and increased the number of GHC scholarships awarded, from 350 in 2013 to 425 in 2014. Scholars represent a wide range of student and faculty positions, from undergraduate to postdoctoral, studying a wide variety of fields including cyber security, informatics, and data analysis.

According to Telle Whitney, president and CEO of The Anita Borg Institute, exposure to computer science and engineering education is key to attracting more women to technical fields, as is direct contact and engagement between students, their academic institution, and technology organizations.

"We are excited and proud to support these young women as they pursue their passions in technology," said Whitney. "GHC is a source of inspiration for all attendees, but especially these young women who are just beginning their technology careers. There is nothing more powerful than to hear about the work of sponsor speakers, their technical contributions, and the impact on our lives. We are proud of them and support their interest and passion for computer science and engineering. They inspire us."

GHC 2014 Scholarship Award Winners

The GHC scholarship program was designed to facilitate participation in the annual conference from women and other underrepresented minorities in computing. Scholars were chosen by a committee comprised of women and men from industry and academia who review and score each application on academic achievement, potential in the field, thoughtfulness and quality of essay, and financial need.

GHC is the largest gathering of women technologists in the world, and is expected to attract 8,000 international participants in industry, academia, and government. This year's distinguished speakers include Shafi Goldwasser, RSA Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT; Maria Klawe, President of Harvey Mudd College; Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft; and Arati Prabhakar, Director of DARPA.

GHC's corporate sponsors supported over 284 student scholarships. Additional scholarships have been provided by Aruba Networks, the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM-W), Cisco Systems, Microsoft, the National Science Foundation, NetSuite, and PROS. Information on scholarship support is available at http://gracehopper.org/additional-sponsorships/.

The 2014 Grace Hopper Celebration sponsors include the following:
Platinum Sponsors -- Amazon, Apple, Bank of America, CA Technologies, Cisco, Dell, Dropbox, eBay, Facebook, GoDaddy, Google, HP, IBM, Intel, Intuit, Juniper Networks, LinkedIn, Lockheed Martin, Microsoft, Nationwide, NetApp, Rackspace, Thomson Reuters, VMWare, Yahoo!

Gold Sponsors -- All State, American Express, Bentley University, California Polytechnic Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Harvey Mudd College, Georgia Tech, Groupon, Lincoln Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, New York University, Palantir, Purdue University, Stanford University Computer Science Department, ThoughtWorks, Twitter, Two Sigma, University of California Berkeley, USC Viterbi School of Engineering, Virginia Tech, @WalmartLabs.

Silver Sponsors -- Accenture, Adobe, Addepar, Agile Alliance, Airbnb, Akamai Technologies, AMD, Andreesen Horowitz, Aruba Networks, AT&T, Barclays, Bloomberg, BNY Mellon, Box, Capital One, Comcast NBC Universal, Credit Suisse, EMC, Ericsson, FactSet, Freddie Mac, General Electric, GitHub, Goldman Sachs, HBO, Johnson&Johnson, J.P. Morgan, Macy's, MasterCard, MediaOcean, Morgan Stanley, Mylan, Neustar, Optimizely, Pinterest, Pivotal, Prudential, Qualcomm, Quora, Raytheon, Red Hat, RelayRides, Salesforce, Shopify, Square, State Farm, Symantec, Target, Teradata, TimeInc., Travelers, Verizon, ViaSat, Visa, The Walt Disney Company, Xerox, Yelp, Zendesk.

For more information about GHC 2014, visit www.gracehopper.org.

About The Anita Borg Institute (ABI)
The Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology (ABI) connects, inspires, and guides women in computing and organizations that view technology innovation as a strategic imperative. Founded in 1997 by computer scientist Anita Borg, our reach extends to more than 42 countries. We believe technology innovation powers the global economy, and that women are crucial to building technology the world needs. As a social enterprise, we recognize women making positive contributions, and advise organizations on how to improve performance by building more inclusive teams. ABI partners include: Cisco, Google, HP, Microsoft, Thomson Reuters, Amazon, CA Technologies, Dell, eBay, Facebook, First Republic Bank, IBM, Intel, Intuit, Juniper Networks, Lockheed Martin, Marvell, National Science Foundation, National Security Agency, NetApp, SAP, Symantec, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Broadcom, EMC, Neustar, Raytheon, Salesforce.com, VentureLoop, Xerox and Yahoo! The Anita Borg Institute is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) charitable organization. For more information, visit www.anitaborg.org

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