Two computer science students from UBC are among 17 inaugural Canadian Anita Borg scholars and finalists. The memorial scholarships, awarded by the Internet search giant Google, honour Dr. Anita Borg, a computer scientist who worked to increase the participation of women and under-represented minorities in IT fields.
Pooja Viswanathan and Viann Chan, both PhD students with the Department of Computer Science, have been named finalists.
Four Canadian women received $5,000 scholarships, and 13 finalists received $1,000 scholarships. All are completing degrees in computer science and related fields.
"Each of these award recipients has demonstrated a commitment to advancing women in technology. We congratulate these leaders on their accomplishments," noted Jordan Bookey, Diversity Programs Manager at Google, in the company's official blog.
The 17 Canada Anita Borg scholars and finalists attended a scholars' retreat for their inaugural class at Google’s engineering office in New York.
