What a difference a WIIT bursary can make!
I am Asisipho Fente from Khayelitsha, Cape Town. I passed Matric in 2017 and did not secure funding from any of the bursaries I had applied to. Early in January my mentor, Baratang Miya, helped me seek funding. We were at an IITPSA talk where she was a guest speaker, and she asked me to tell my story. I explained that I achieved good marks for Matric, but I did not have any funding and my parents were not able to afford my fees. I went through all the stages necessary to secure the IITPSA bursary, applying and participating in a telephonic interview.I was informed weeks later that I had been awarded the bursary. I cannot express how happy I was, because this meant I would be the first child from my family to go to university!
I am at UCT, studying towards a professional degree, BCom in Information Systems. I love what I am studying, and I am so excited with what I can do with it. The transition from high school to University has been difficult but what has been helpful is IITPSA covering my fees because they had relieved a huge burden for me and my parents. I am doing so well that I was even elected class representative for my computer science class. I believe I have a lot of potential and with the support from IITPSA I can unleash it.
Meet some of our scholarship beneficiaries!
In 2019/ 2020 The IITPSA has awarded two bursaries to promising young students studying to enter the field of IT.
The students were selected by the Women in IT committee, in line with IITPSA’s focus on encouraging more young women to study IT-related subjects.
Zuleigha Patel
A full bursary, valued at R130,000, was awarded to Zuleigha Patel of Cape Town. She will study at UCT. The Women in IT committee reports that on top of her good matric results, Zuleigha is passionate about IT and has the determination and drive to make a success of her studies. IITPSA partnered with Study Trust in the administration and management of the bursary.
Veda October
A partial bursary, valued at R40,000, was awarded for a second year in a row to Veda October of Paarl, whose first year results were excellent. She is studying at the Pearson Institute. The committee reports that she has also proven to be a hard and dedicated learner.
Bursary & Education Support
WIIT has a limited number of scholarships and bursaries available each year for girls and young women wishing to study towards careers in IT.
Bursaries
WIIT provides two bursaries per year for young women studying an ICT-related degree:
In addition to the criteria mentioned above, motivations for both bursaries will be reviewed and evaluated against the following criteria:
High School Scholarships
Including IT as a matric subject will be an advantage for entrance to a Computer Science or Information Systems degree at University, and an exciting career in the IT industry.
If IT is not offered at your school, or you want to do it as an additional subject, we offer girls who have done well in the Talent Search competition the opportunity to study programming using the very successful SSIR (http://www.ssir.co.za) online school, for Grades 10, 11 and 12.
Successful applicants will be enrolled in the IEB curriculum and learn Java programming – WIIT and IITPSA will cover the cost of tuition and textbooks. Successful applicants who are based in Cape Town may also be sponsored to attend the Code4CT Coding School (www.code4ct.com) during the July holidays if they wish. This will give you the opportunity to learn more about coding with a group of like-minded girls, and develop a peer networking group.
For more information, email bursary@iitpsa.org.za.