Scholarship to help promote women in top roles launched at UCC

A new scholarship that helps to promote females in top roles has just been announced at Cork University Business School (CUBS), UCC. Earlier this year CUBS embedded a 30% club scholarship into the Executive MBA at University College Cork.

It has also been announced that Sarah Boyle is the inaugural recipient of a scholarship to undertake the MSc in Project Management. Sarah is QA Manager at DePuy Synthes in Cork.

The Department of Management and Marketing, CUBS in association with the 30% Club established this new scholarship to help promote women in senior project management and leadership roles within companies and organisations.

The scholarship was launched with the goal of achieving better gender balance at all levels in leading Irish businesses. The 30% Club supports scholarship programmes in leading third level institutions across Ireland including UCC, UCD, DCU, the IMI, NUIG, TCD, UL, the Smurfit Business School, the National College of Ireland and the Royal College of Surgeons.

Head of the Department of Management and Marketing, Prof. Anthony McDonnell said: “We are delighted to announce that Sarah is the first recipient the 30% Club Scholarship. Sarah will now undertake the MSc Project Management programme at CUBS. We were delighted with the level of interest in this scholarship and to be able to work with the 30% Club in supporting the career advancement of high performing and high potential women through offering this scholarship. Sarah is a most worthy recipient of the inaugural award on this programme.”

The course is designed to prepare its participants with a broad perspective of project and programme management and equip graduates with ethical managerial and business skills. The MSc Project Management ensures an understanding of project management in an organisational context through the emphasis on strategic alignment and the management of resources.

The part-time programme is comprised of an interactive seminar and workshop formats, case studies, group and individual exercises support the development of decision-making and problem-solving skills. It is supported by academic and expert practitioners who deliver a curriculum that is relevant, current and research-informed.

The 30% Club was officially launched in Ireland in January 2015 and it is now supported by the leaders of over 200 Irish businesses committed to accelerating gender balance in their organisations through their voluntary actions. It is a collaborative approach to creating change in Ireland, aiming towards 30% women on boards and in executive management by 2020.

Carol Andrews, Chair of 30% Club Ireland said: “We are delighted to partner with UCC which joins a number of universities and business schools across Ireland to rectify the under-representation of women pursuing post-graduate management education by offering scholarships for women. Through these partnerships, we seek to build a continuum of change, highlighting the impact of executive education in accelerating career development and helping women to decide to undertake further education.”