Women Techmakers Scholars Program — Application Process

Just last year, I was a scholarship recipient of the 2019 APAC Women Techmakers Scholars Program. A group of 75 female undergraduate and graduate students were chosen from an applicant pool of over 25,000 for the scholarship, based on the strength of each candidate’s impact on diversity, demonstrated technical skills, leadership and academic accomplishments. As a scholar, I had the wonderful opportunity of being a part of the Scholars’ Retreat hosted by Google at their office in Sydney, Australia.

Through this article, I hope to outline the application process for anyone looking to apply.

The 2019 APAC Scholars — Photograph taken by Google

What is the Women Techmakers Scholarship?

Through the Women Techmakers Scholars Program — formerly the Google Anita Borg Memorial Scholarship Program — Google is furthering Dr. Anita Borg’s vision of creating gender equality in the field of computer science by encouraging women to excel in computing and technology and become active leaders and role models in the field.

Dr. Anita Borg is an exceptional lady with a fearless vision, who dismantled barriers that kept women and minorities from entering the fields of computing and technology. Honoring Dr.Anita’s memory, Google supports women in technology with the Women Techmakers Scholars Program.

More information about the program can be found here on the official WTM website.

Here’s why you should apply.

This opportunity of a lifetime gifts a scholar 3 phenomenal things -

• Scholarship — An academic scholarship, awarded based on academic performance, leadership, and impact on the community of women in tech. As a result, each scholar received a cash award for the 2019–2020 academic year.
• Scholars’ retreat — An invitation to attend the annual Women Techmakers Scholars’ Retreat in one of Google’s Asia Pacific offices. It’s an opportunity to connect with fellow scholars and Google mentors while participating in professional and personal development training and workshops.
• Community — As a Women Techmakers Scholar, you join a long term community of scholars program participants in a forum that’s designed to share resources, support other women in tech and collaborate on projects to make continued impact. Professional development and community outreach opportunities will continue to be offered after the retreat.

As part of the global Women Techmakers community, your name would be in the past scholars’ hall of fame for the generations to come! You could view the list of the 2019 scholars here.

Photograph taken by Google

Scholars Program — Application & Selection

The global scholars program runs in 3 regions, namely -

• North America,
• Europe, the Middle East, and Africa
• Asia Pacific

Whilst the eligibility criteria is pretty much the same, the application requirements and the scholarship amount differs for each region. As a student studying in South-East Asia, I will outline the application process for Asia Pacific.

Having heard about the scholarship program from a friend at university, I came across the Women Techmakers official website where applications for the 2019–20 scholarship had just opened! (I suppose they open up in April and go on till about May) Going through the eligibility criteria, it said -

To be eligible to apply, applicants must

• Identify as female
• Currently be enrolled at an accredited university for the 2019–2020 academic year (is a full time student)
• Be studying computer science, computer engineering, or a closely related technical field
• Demonstrate a good academic record and strong technical skills (through work done on technical projects and/or participation in coding competitions)
• Exemplify leadership and demonstrate passion for increasing the involvement of women in computer science

Step 01 — The application

Then came the application process. It was a 5–6 page application which requested -

• General background information (contact information and information about your educational institution)
• Academic transcripts
• Proof of coding competition participation — Optional, but I highly recommend it for anyone looking to apply. You could take part in any of Google’s coding competitions from here.
• Current resume — Make sure it’s as up to date as possible! Draw attention to any internship experiences you may have, and any roles you’ve had in your community helping the underrepresented in tech. I’d recommend attempting to squeeze it down to a single page or a maximum of two.
• Responses to 3 short answer questions — In my opinion it’s one of the major things that makes your application stand out. Two of the questions were fabricated to reflect your passion for Computer Science and the underrepresented community in tech, while one was a technical article about a computer science project, focusing on your academic background and technical skills. The answers serve as a crucial factor in deciding whether you are worthy of the scholarship.

Halfway through the application process, I was hesitant as to WHY they would even consider my application for the scholarship. While many negative thoughts clouded my judgement, I read up on every WTM article I could find and mustered my courage to apply.

Here’s my advice to anyone who’s looking to apply.

• It’s important that your application stands out from the thousands of other applications. State any personal stories you could relate to as a Computer Science student so that it would make your application unique!
• Whatever you put down in your application, make sure you write it from your heart so that it reflects the passion inside of you to create an impact. State instances where you helped the underrepresented community in tech. It may not always make a big impact, but if you could just bring a smile on someone’s face with the work you do, it’s important and deserves to be talked out!
• Since it’s mentioned that the technical article about a computer science project could be structured as a research paper, I would suggest you to download a technical report/ research paper format in Latex or MS Word. The length of the report should depend on how massive your project is.
• There’s a lot of articles on the internet written by fellow scholars. Read as much as you can, so that you have a clear idea about what to expect in the application process.

Finally… Just go for it. You may or may not get it, but the experience will still be worth it. If you don’t get it, you could always apply next year. At least you won’t be starting from scratch, you’ll be starting with experience.

Step 02 — The interview

Exactly 3 weeks after applying, when I had forgotten all about it, I got an email informing I was a shortlisted candidate for the 2019 Women Techmakers Scholars Program!

Then came the 30 minute phone interview with a Google Engineer from the Singapore office.

I read through the answers I had written making sure the passion I had in my heart when I was writing those answers could still be felt in conversation. The interview turned out to be more of a friendly conversation rather than a formal interview. It started out talking about what I had written down on my essay answers. Going through my resume, she was interested in a couple of projects I had done and asked me to elaborate on that. She was particularly interested in this mobile app we had come up with for women’s safety and the questions revolved around that. Having presented it at quite a few Hackathons, I was happy to answer all of her questions. As my final question, she asked if I had anything else to share, anything that could influence her decision in my selection. So you have a good opportunity to share more experiences that you have not mentioned in your application. The interview lasted exactly 30 minutes, and she was in a jolly good mood towards the end, so I was glad about how things turned out to be.

Next came the excruciating wait. Knowing I had come this close to being awarded the scholarship, I could hardly contain my excitement as I eagerly awaited a reply.

Two weeks after the interview, came another email with a form for sanctioned countries/ individuals screening. It was a process conducted by Google against lists published by various authorities, complying with local and US regulations. I was still not sure whether I had made it. Three days after that came the phone call I had eagerly been waiting for quite a few weeks! Another warm Googler from the Singapore office called my mobile to deliver the good news in person.

What was even more amazing was that one of my friends from university, Dasuni Geeganage, had also gotten selected. We started making plans together, being the only scholars from Sri Lanka this year. The weeks leading to the retreat were busy packed applying for the visa, health insurance, and whatnot. Betty Tsai, regional specialist for Southeast Asia kept us updated through emails. The scholars were invited to join a Facebook group so that we could keep in touch, before and after the retreat. We were soon contacted by Carlson Wagonlit Travel — a business travel management company, who had been engaged by Google to book our flights. Before we knew it, we were on a flight to Australia for the experience of a lifetime!

More details about the retreat would be followed up in my next article.

Going forth with the hope of seeing more of the massively talented girls as WTM Scholars next year, both of us would be more than happy to mentor potential applicants. Being a WTM scholar has undoubtedly been one of the most life-changing experiences of my life. I believe it helped me grow as an individual, both personally and professionally. Just believe in your potential, and you will be unstoppable.

Ps — You could reach me at tharushi96@gmail.com. I’d be more than pleased to answer your questions regarding the scholarship! :)

And if you make it through the selection process, make sure you pack light, because you’ll be bringing back lots of swag from Google! ;)

xoxo — Lots of love from a fellow scholar.

Note from the author — Please be aware that the Women Techmaker’s Scholarship is not available after 2020. Instead check out the all new Generation Google Scholarship from here!

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