Sanofi Future Female Leader Scholarships awarded to two UCD students
Monday, 4 December, 2023
Two high-achieving students from University College Dublin (UCD) have been awarded Sanofi Future Female Leader Scholarships by the global biopharmaceutical company who employ almost 800 people at their campus in Waterford.
Ruth Moore, a 2nd year BSc (Hons) in Physics student and Niamh O’Connell, a 2nd year student on the Bachelor of Engineering (Chemical & Bioprocess Engineering) were presented with their awards today (Fri, 10 May) at the facility in Waterford.
Introduced on a pilot basis in 2018, the scholarships are promoted by Sanofi to encourage greater female participation in professional disciplines where women are traditionally under-represented.
From Dublin, Ruth Moore is a STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) Fellow at the UCD Innovation Academy and Outreach Officer for the university’s Women in STEM Committee. She is also a science peer mentor at the college and Sponsorships Officer for the UCD Food Society. In addition, she has competed internationally in debating. Later this year, she will travel to California to participate in a three-week programme in manufacturing and technology innovation.
Kerry native Niamh O’Connell is a Bord na Gaeilge UCD Scholar, a Naughton Foundation Scholar and the Competition & Skills Officer of the UCD Surf Club. During the summer, she will complete a four-week placement in Tanzania where she will be teaching basic computer skills to teachers and secondary school students.
As recipients of Sanofi Future Female Leader Scholarships, both students will receive an annual scholarship allowance of €3,000 each; mentoring from a senior leader at Sanofi Waterford; a paid summer placement and – where their course provides for it – a paid internship. They will also be eligible for fast-track applications to the company’s graduate programme.
Presenting the scholarships, Ruth Beadle, Site Head, Sanofi Waterford, said: “We had more than 100 applicants for the two scholarships from second and third year students at UCC, UCD and WIT this year so Ruth and Niamh have come through a very competitive process and proven themselves among the best of the best.
“For a business like ours that constantly needs to maintain a strong pipeline of emerging talent, it makes great sense that we invest in programmes like this that showcase some of the tremendous career opportunities available in Ireland’s thriving biopharma and medical devices sector. Addressing the under-representation of female leaders in our industry is also a very solid investment – from both a fairness perspective and, at a very basic level, so that we are not missing out on the huge potential of half the population. When we think of diversity and inclusion, we are also very aware of the huge value there is in having different perspectives around the room for decision-making.
“We now look forward to Ruth and Niamh coming on-board with us at Waterford as they continue their university studies in science and engineering respectively. I have no doubt they will benefit from the programme but also contribute a lot to our site team, making this a real ‘win-win’ for all of us.”