Minister for Defence Industry - Women in STEM support hits record high

The Morrison Government has today awarded a record 25 scholarships to women studying Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) at 13 universities across Australia.

Minister for Defence Industry Melissa Price saidDefence continued to lead the nation in promoting STEM workforce diversity, with the Defence Women in STEM Undergraduate scholarships playing a significant role in building the talent pipeline.

Seventeen previous scholarship recipients have completed their degree programs, with seven continuing on to Defence STEM Cadetship programs and a further four women now employed by Defence.

"Clearly these scholarships are helping facilitate greater engagement from women across Australia with Defence," Minister Price said.

"We are enabling the best talent to successfully complete their degrees and ensuring the workforce of the future is secured."

This year's scholarship program also honours the late Leisa Condie, who made outstanding contributions to cryptology and the high performance computing program in Defence and the Australian Signals Directorate.

The Leisa Condie Defence Women in STEM Undergraduate Scholarship was awarded to Edith Cowan University student Hannah Rice, whose studies align with Leisa's work area. 

The scholarships are awarded to students who demonstrated academic excellence and who displayed positive attributes such as community leadership and extra-curricular engagement.

The recipients were:

Recipient of Leisa Condie Scholarship:
Hannah Rice	Edith Cowan University	Bachelor of Science (Cyber Security)
All other Scholarship recipients:
Natasha Moy	University of Adelaide	Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) (Mechanical)/Bachelor of Science
Holly Wilson	Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT)	Bachelor of Space Science
Rosanna Xu	University of New South Wales (UNSW)	Bachelor of Engineering (Mechatronic)/Bachelor of Advanced Science
Paige Sedgwick	UNSW	Bachelor of Engineering (Hons)/Arts
Ruby Mattingley	Monash University	Bachelor of Applied Data Science Advanced (Hons)
Melanie Ward	Flinders University	Bachelor of Science (Computer Science)/Bachelor of Archaeology
Georgia Odlin	University of Sydney	Bachelor of Engineering (Hons)/Bachelor of Science
Bushra Khan	Charles Sturt University	Bachelor of Information Technology
Caroline Andersson	Flinders University	Bachelor of Science (Hons)
Catherine Cheng	UNSW	Bachelor of Advanced Science (Hons)/Engineering (Hons)
Caitlin Buchan	La Trobe University	Bachelor of Engineering (Hons)/Science
Alexandra Stephenson	University of Adelaide	Bachelor of Mathematical Sciences (Advanced)/Diploma in Arts
Jessie Lum	UNSW	Bachelor of Engineering (Hons)/Science
Kylie Chapman	University of Southern Queensland (USQ)	Bachelor of Science
Jessica Stafford	University of South Australia	Bachelor of Mathematics (Industrial and Applied Mathematics)
Dana Edwards	University of Melbourne	Bachelor of Science
Olivia Griscti	University of Adelaide	Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) (Mechanical)/Bachelor of Mathematical and Computer Science
Kate Morrison	University of Melbourne	Bachelor of Science
Halle Taylor-Pritchard	Griffith University	Bachelor of Engineering (Hons)/Bachelor of Information Technology
Selina Phillis	Charles Sturt University	Bachelor of Geospatial Science
Jacqueline Gregg	Monash University	Bachelor of Engineering (Hons)
Gazel Harabati	RMIT	Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical Engineering)/Bachelor of Science (Biotechnology)
Philippa McMurtrie	University of Adelaide	Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) (Mechanical)/Bachelor of Science
Michelle Therese Wilson	University of Adelaide	Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) (Mechanical)/Bachelor of Science (Biotechnology)

The scholarships are a key initiative under the 'More, Together – Defence Science and Technology Strategy 2030'. The program is aimed at encouraging high-performing women to continue their studies in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields and boost representation and job opportunities in the workforce.

For more information on the scholarships, visit https://www.dst.defence.gov.au/partner-with-us/university/scholarships.