Zoriana Aleyeva, from Birmingham, is one of 15 recipients of the 2024 Amazon Future Engineer Scholarship, created in partnership with the Royal Academy of Engineering.

Zoriana studies computer science at the University of Warwick and was awarded a place on the scholarship program due to her passion for research in the field of artificial intelligence or machine learning.

Zoriana, who moved to Birmingham two years ago from Ukraine, explains what attracted her to the scholarship: “I really saw it as a way to enrich my curriculum. I was interested in the networking and mentoring opportunities that come with the scholarship, and I was keen to find more people interested in computer science as I was the only woman in my college studying the subject for A Level. That aspect was very exciting to me.”

“I hope to find some people that I can connect with and work on different projects with in computer science. Everyone has a different field or niche, so it would be nice to get together and do something together.”

She continues: “Obviously, I also applied because of the huge financial support, which is important, especially for a computer science degree. You have to buy all your equipment and there is not much room to work part-time with the focus you need to have on your studies. I feel really well supported through this scholarship.”

Zoriana emphasizes the importance of programs like the Amazon Future Engineer Scholarship, especially for young women who want to develop a career in STEM. “I think opportunities like this are really important, especially because of the bias against women in science in general. Initiatives like this really encourage young students who may have chosen other career paths or degrees.”

What does Zoriana hope to do in the long term? “I’m looking at different research degrees in hopes of staying in academia. I’d love to do research, specifically in artificial intelligence or machine learning, in the next five to seven years.”

Zoriana concludes by revealing the advice she would give to anyone considering applying to a program like the one she’s doing with Amazon. “Definitely do. The application process may seem challenging at first, but you just need to be creative and think outside the box. Even if you think you might not get it, try anyway – you never know! You could be just the person for the program looking for.”

Since launching the scholarship in 2021, Amazon has awarded over £1.25 million worth of funding and is currently supporting 90 women studying STEM-related degrees at universities across the UK.

The scholarship is part of Amazon Future Engineer, Amazon’s childhood to career programme, which has provided free digital skills training and careers guidance to more than one million students across the UK. Awardees like Zoriana will each receive £5,000 annually for up to four years to support their university-related expenses, including tuition, accommodation and living costs.

Alongside this financial support, the awardees will also benefit from a comprehensive package that includes mentoring from Amazon employees to enhance their professional growth, provide networking opportunities and the transition to employment.

Scholarship applications for the academic year 2025/26 open on 18 November and close on 13 May 2025.

Amazon launched Amazon Future Engineer in 2019, to bridge the digital skills gap by providing greater access and opportunities to young people from underrepresented communities. The program has now reached over a million students across the UK, giving primary and secondary students access to free Python coding classes, career exploration through class chat and virtual school trips, CPD training for teachers and more.

For information on the Amazon Future Engineer Scholarship, visit: amazonfuturengineer.co.uk/scholarship.