Student Award 'a confidence booster'

Zonta is just one of many organisations providing financial support to our students; the latest is Broadspectrum, while Zonta’s city-based club established its annual Award in 2002 through WiEIT.

Pratiksha (19) is the 2017 winner for her recent volunteer work and future plans to continue developing social applications at community level through humanitarian programs in in developing countries.

“I heard about the Zonta Award through WiEIT, which posts lots of information about scholarships and networking, and is a great space for students to hear about similar initiatives and share information,” she says.

Initially Pratiksha wasn’t too sure about applying, thinking there would be many more students much better qualified.  But the Zonta application encouraged her to talk about her studies, her personal experiences and reflect on what she has gained from both.

It was her interest in, and experience of, humanitarian engineering in rural India -  through Drishtee Immersion -  that caught the judges’ attention.

“I was part of a team in a local community working with young people to encourage them to consider adapting to different ways and structures to make improvements,” she said.

“The project valued social empathy – living within the communities to get a real sense of what daily life is like, and some of their challenges. 

“In traditional rural communities, younger people still encounter a strong culture of being told what to do, and to do things because they’ve always been done a certain way.  They are not encouraged to explore ideas, to take risks in identifying ideas and developing local solutions, especially around the introduction of renewable energy sources.”

For Pratiksha, this was a huge learning experience, developing communication skills, living and working alongside a different culture and forming long-term relationships to sustain the project. It was also a practical application of some of her preferred areas of study, which include renewable energy, creativity and design which she is currently enjoying in her double degree at UTS. While she was always exploring STEM subjects and had a real interest in engines and machinery, she thinks many young women have a very limited view of what engineering can offer.

 “I think many girls have a rigid expectation of engineering – that it’s just maths and physics, but it’s really about building connections – with people, for people,” she said.

The Zonta Award of $1000 will go some way towards Pratkisha’s next overseas volunteering experience – this time to an elephant sanctuary in Thailand!

“The financial reward is great but what this Award really means is a confidence boost.  For me, and the other shortlisted students, it recognises and validates our experiences and our commitment to humanitarian engineering and the real–world impact it can have on communities.”

Congratulations also to Emily Gerrard, who was Highly Commended by Zonta for participating in an Engineers without Borders’ humanitarian project in Cambodia and her role as Equity Ambassador for UTS, also encouraging other young women to consider engineering as a profession.

“Engineering should be human-centred, requiring empathy to discover appropriate solutions to basic problems and improve the quality of living for less privileged communities,” she said.