Intel offers scholarship opportunities for female Central State University STEM students

Above: Central State University interns participate in Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA) lab exercises as part of the Intel-sponsored summer internship program for women and underrepresented minorities.

Female science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) students at Central State University are now invited to apply for the Intel Semiconductor Scholarship for Women. Those who are awarded scholarship funds through this new program will be provided with $5,000. These funds may be used for various resources, such as tuition, fees, books, transportation, and childcare.

Intel’s mission with this scholarship is to broaden the technology field’s diversity quotient, particularly for women, people of color, and other members of underrepresented communities. The deadline for registration is Sept. 18.

Applicants to the Intel Semiconductor Scholarship for Women must:

• Be students who have graduated high school and are currently enrolled or plan to enroll in a higher education institution in the state of Ohio to pursue a two-year associate degree for the 2023-24 academic year
• Self-identify as female
• Plan to enroll in full-time undergraduate study at an accredited higher education institution that offers a two-year associate degree in the state of Ohio for the 2023-24 academic year
• Be a United States citizen and/or be eligible to legally work in the U.S.
• Be a first-year student who will start in the fall of 2023 or the spring of 2024 and are pursuing a STEM degree relevant to the semiconductor manufacturing industry. Eligible programs include but are not limited to the following:
  • Electrical Engineering Technology AAS 
  • Electronic Engineering Technology AAS
  • Electro-Mechanical Engineering Technology AAS
  • Engineering Technology AAS
  • Microelectronics
  • Mechatronics
  • Chemistry-related AAS
  • Mechanical Engineering Technology AAS
  • Computer Electronic Technology
  • Other STEM-similar associate degrees excluding medical fields

Furthermore, scholarship recipients are selected on the basis of:

• Academic record
• Demonstrated leadership and participation in school and community activities
• Work experience
• A statement of educational and career goals and objectives aligned to the semiconductor industry
• Unusual personal or family circumstances

Financial need will not be considered.

As many as 23 awards will be granted, and all applicants will be notified in October.

Students beginning enrollment in spring 2024 will receive $2,500. Awards are renewable for one year or until the student earns their degree, whichever occurs first, based on satisfactory academic performance (maintaining a cumulative grade point average of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale). Scholarship winners must also complete at least 12 credit units per semester in an eligible program.

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“Central State University is leading one of the eight Intel-funded projects through Intel Semiconductor Education Program in Ohio,” explained Mohammadreza Hadizadeh, associate professor of physics. “We had a successful internship program this summer, which was focused on training women and underrepresented minorities on semiconductor topics.”

Due to the success thus far of both the Intel Semiconductor Education Program and this past summer’s internship program, Hadizadeh believes there is substantial potential for female STEM students at Central State to be awarded this new scholarship. Hadizadeh also noted the University has developed a new certificate program that it will soon offer — semiconductor processing — as well as a minor in computer hardware technology. Hadizadeh’s goal is to launch both programs in spring 2024.

“Students can get the advantage of this scholarship to enroll in either or both programs,” Hadizadeh said.

Hadizadeh acknowledged that scholarships such as these are essential in facilitating the resolution of an industry-wide problem: the devastating dearth of women and underrepresented minorities in the fields of technology and industrial engineering.

“That’s why — not only Intel but other key companies — are working to decrease this gap,” Hadizadeh said. “At the same time, they are working to address what is also an overall shortage of workers in the semiconductor industry.”

Hadizadeh continued that tech and industrial engineering fields are growing at a rapid rate. This is both due to quantum leaps being made in those sectors — such as advances being made in Artificial Intelligence (AI) — and because of what Hadizadeh referred to as political motivations stemming from America’s drive toward becoming more independent from foreign outsourcing when it comes to chip manufacturing.

Closer to home, Intel has invested $20 billion into the construction of a new chip factory based in New Albany. The factory is expected to be operational in 2025.

The new plant will require an influx of educated, experienced, well-trained engineers and technicians. As such, neighboring Central State could become a viable hub churning out such a future workforce.

“As technology continues to evolve very quickly, there is a great opportunity here for Central State and Central State students,” Hadizadeh said. “And this is greatly impacted by our collaborators like Intel and programs such as this latest scholarship.”