Aspen Institute Italia has established 10 merit-based scholarships in 2022 with a view to promoting the enrollment of young women from southern Italy in degree courses in scientific and technical disciplines in regions other than the region in which they are domiciled. The Regulations (Italian version) and Call for Submissions for the scholarships were published in February 2022.
The purpose of the scholarships is:
- to draw attention to, and to support, the education of young women in STEM disciplines as a necessary resource for building the future;
- to support the aspiration of young women from southern Italy who are meritorious yet from a relatively low-income background, to enroll in degree course in universities outside the region in which they are domiciled;
- to boost the human capital in STEM disciplines as a potential resource for southern Italy.
Each scholarship, worth €11,000 gross, is designed to cover part of the costs incurred by each winning student in spending the academic year 2022-23 (first enrollment) taking either a first level three-year degree course or a single cycle degree course in a STEM discipline (science, technology, engineering or mathematics) at a university situated in a region other than the region in which she is domiciled.
The scholarships were assigned in November 2022 on the basis of merit and of fulfilment of the terms outlined in the Call for Submissions, which included:
- the candidate had to be no older than 20 years of age when submitting her candidacy;
- the candidate had to have achieved an average grade of no less than 8.5 out of 10 in her final three years in high school;
- the candidate had to reside in a southern Italian region;
- the candidate’s ISEE coefficient had to be equal to or lower than €40,000.
The 10 female students who won the scholarships were, in alphabetical order:
- Irene Grasso, resident in Leverano (Lecce),
enrolled in the degree course in Physical Engineering at the Politecnico di Torino.
- Marta Innamorati, resident in Pettino (L’Aquila),
enrolled in the degree course in Physics at the Università degli Studi di Padova.
- Giorgia Leuzzi, resident in Campi Salentina (Lecce),
enrolled in the degree course in Electronic Engineering at the Politecnico di Milano.
- Giulia Maggio, resident in Casarano (Lecce),
enrolled in the degree course in Biomedical Engineering at the Politecnico di Torino.
- Claudia Magli, resident in Taranto,
enrolled in the degree course in Mathematics at the Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna.
- Virginia Matranga, resident in Piana degli Albanesi (Palermo),
enrolled in the degree course in Biotechnologies at the Università degli Studi di Padova.
- Giovanna Mariapia Mondaldi, resident in Nova Siri (Matera),
enrolled in the degree course in Physics at the Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna.
- Sara Rella, resident in Binetto (Bari),
enrolled in the degree course in Mathematics for Engineering at the Politecnico di Torino.
- Giorgia Scalise, resident in Lamezia Terme (Catanzaro),
enrolled in the degree course in Industrial Engineering at the Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna.
- Dalila Maria Tamburrano, resident in Ruffano (Lecce),
enrolled in the degree course in Mathematics for Engineering at the Politecnico di Torino.