Solar technology and engineering expert Sola has launched its first engineering bursary.
The bursary will pay for the tuition of a final-year electrical engineering student and provide them with a job opportunity as a graduate engineer in the solar photovoltaic (PV) field.
The bursary is open to previously disadvantaged students who plan to enter into their final year of BSc or BEng electrical engineering at a Cape Town-based institution in 2022.
The bursary will include R75 000 tuition, paid vacation work and a graduate engineering position after the studies have been completed.
The move comes as part of Sola’s broader shared value strategy which aims to bolster science, technology, engineering and mathematics education and give opportunities for young engineers seeking careers in renewable energy.
“It is a great step forward for us and one we are very excited about,” said Sola Group CEO Dom Wills.
“We know there are incredibly smart students out there who have faced giant odds to get to where they are. We want to support them on this journey, because that will ultimately make our organisation stronger in the future,” he added.
Wills encouraged women, in particular, to apply for the bursary as they have “historically been underrepresented” in the solar PV industry.
“We hope this bursary can help to demonstrate the viability of a career in renewable energy and encourage more electrical engineers to take this direction,” he said.
Interested parties can apply online.
The deadline for applications is August 31.