By Denise Berry | Development Officer
Dearest Friends,
We’re so grateful that you, our supporters have enabled us to reach $6,295.00 in funding towards a full scholarship for a rural female student at the International University of Grand-Bassam in Côte d’Ivoire. We still need to raise another $10,105 to reach our goal of $16,400. We can’t reach our financial goal without you.
We are proud that you understand the critical importance of this type of education is for under-resourced female students and their families in rural areas. If they are lucky, they graduate high school and only through a full scholarship will they be able to attend IUGB and receive the education they need to break the cycle of poverty.
You also understand STEM professions are not the norm for these women, and the critical need for role models in universities and corporations, so that these choices become the norm. This presence of this social conditioning matters as much as the education itself. Women struggle, even as STEM graduates, to transition from the educational world to the world of work.
At IUGB Foundation, we believe that universities and corporations should work hand in hand; respectively to produce a skilled workforce and to efficiently provide opportunities that maximize 21st century skills to build the economy. As an example, the IUGB Foundation recently initiated and facilitated a partnership with Mondelez International Cocoa Life. Mondelez has partnered with IUGB for our students and alumni to work on urban and rural projects with this global brand in Abidjan. Cocoa is one of Côte d’Ivoire’s main exports and an important source of economic development.
Students and graduates alike can apply for internship positions to increase their skills in research, public policy, data science, IT, M&E and community development. Part of Cocoa Life’s mission is to empower the men, women, and youth within cocoa communities to lead their own development and improve their livelihoods through entrepreneurship.
Through this partnership benefits all students, it is of particular value to our female STEM scholars to act as peers for the youngest of their community members. That is why IUGB Foundation constantly seeks such corporate-university partnerships. Thank you for your support, and we look forward to reporting out on more promising partnerships in the coming months!
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