For some, this will be their first time studying a technical career, while for others it is a second or third chance to resume their studies, with the dream of becoming professionals and developing skills and tools for the jobs of the future. From a mother and karate teacher who at 48 years old is studying programming to a canine groomer and a beauty salon worker now studying tires, nuts, and mechanics.
These are the 100 winners of the new Luksic More Women in STEM Scholarship from the Luksic Foundation, whose application process was made possible thanks to an alliance with four technical training centers and professional institutes in the country: Duoc UC, Santo Tomás, AIEP, and INACAP, due to their national reach, years of accreditation, and high enrollment. The support consists of $150,000 CLP per month for unrestricted use for each winner from March to December, for the formal duration of their studies.
This Friday, the selected winners were invited to participate in a virtual welcome meeting to get to know each other and share experiences. The event was attended by the rectors of the CFT-IP, Loreto Ferrari, rector of AIEP, Lucas Palacios, rector of INACAP, Juan Pablo Guzmán, rector of CFT-IP Santo Tomás, Isabella Luksic, general manager of the Luksic Foundation, and Nancy Pizarro, acting director of Education, who gave a few words to the winners.
“We firmly believe in the talent of the women of Chile. We know the passion, effort, and dedication they put into everything they do. We know that they are driven by their dreams, the well-being of their families, and the progress of their communities. That is why we are committed to promoting more women in careers related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in technical higher education,” said Nancy Pizarro.
According to data published by UN Women, these careers offer better employability and higher salaries, as well as being a great tool for developing critical thinking and innovation, fundamental skills for the 21st century. In line with this, another initiative of the Luksic Foundation within this new scholarship is the campaign www.mujeresquetodolopueden.cl.
Through their website, more than 50 leaders, professionals, students, teachers, entrepreneurs, and students who have chosen to develop in STEM fields are highlighted to showcase female talent and the importance of future generations having female role models.
One of them is Ana Salazar, an industrial civil engineer and president of Women in Mining, an institution that seeks to promote the inclusion and professional development of women in mining, increasing their participation and visibility in the industry, and who also participated in the welcome ceremony of the 100 scholarship winners to support them.
The ceremony also featured the winners themselves. Rocío Sáez, a student of Automation and Robotics Technician, thanked the Foundation for their support. “This scholarship will really benefit us a lot. We are all of different ages and situations, and these opportunities are a great contribution. I think it’s great that they encourage us to develop in STEM fields because it’s the future and we, as women, are in control of our own decisions, and it’s very necessary to have more women in these fields. We need creation and innovation to come from diversity,” said the student during the ceremony.
On the other hand, Dana Calderón, who enrolled in Mining Technician at AIEP, also spoke: “We are very happy to receive this scholarship that will open doors for a more promising future. I decided to study my career because today a great labor field is opening in my region (Coquimbo) and in Chile. It is a challenging career, being more male-dominated, but I want to dare to make a change and demonstrate that women have a significant role in STEM and to contribute to the mining industry.”
