USD Announces First Women Imagine the Future Fund Scholarship

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University of San Diego. Photo by Chris Stone

In April of this year, the University of San Diego (USD) announced its new Master of Science in Engineering, Sustainability, and Health (MESH) program.

In line with the values ​​of MESH, Academic Director Dr Caroline Baillie decided that a specific fund should be developed to ensure equity of access, so alongside the launch of the program the MESH team developed the “Women Imagine the Future fund”. ”

“We see it [the fund] as a way to bring the brilliance of women from different cultures and ways of knowing to the table – only together can we solve our interconnected global issues,” Baillie said.

The fund focuses on women in low-income countries who, without this funding, could not benefit from the program and bring their ideas and creativity with others around the world to co-create solutions for our future.

Lilian Maruti. Courtesy picture

The Paragon Institute of Innovation, along with the USD and USD Professional and Continuing Education Programs, awarded a full scholarship to Lilian Maruti, a construction engineer in Kenya. Many inspiring candidates applied from many countries and went through a rigorous online application and zoom interview process, the university said.

Maruti currently holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology and was one of two finalists called for a final interview. Currently, she works as a civil engineer at Ditco Engineering Construction Company, where her key role is to lead construction operations activities; specifically, providing technical advice and guidance for the implementation of the project. It determines the best practices and methodologies to be used in these large construction projects.

“Lilian is the perfect candidate for MESH,” Baille said. “She is looking to become a leader for sustainability and health in her country with projects in mind that she can work on during and after the MESH program.”

Maruti described the fellowship as “a dream come true”.

“It’s an incredible opportunity for me to learn, embrace and integrate sustainable cross-disciplinary practices,” she said. “The lessons learned from this USD program would help me influence building practices in Kenya with a focus on preserving the environment, improving living standards as well as ensuring the highest standards of health environmental and human impact in my country. I am honoured.”

Paragon Institute of Innovation also provided $1,000 scholarships which were awarded to the first 10 to enroll in the new USD MESH program.

With a 100% online course format, the program targets busy professionals who want to earn their MESH degree while balancing the demands of work and home life from anywhere in the county and ultimately the the world. It takes approximately 20 months (five semesters) to complete and is now accepting applications for the term beginning September 6. The deadline to register for the fall semester for the MESH program is August 1.

For more information, go to onlinedegrees.sandiego.edu.

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