Google has awarded Sinini Ncube, a Rhodes Computer Science master’s student, a Google Anita Borg Memorial Scholarship for the Europe, the Middle East and Africa region.?
The scholarship is awarded by Google in memory of Dr Anita Borg, who devoted her life to revolutionising the way we think about technology, and to dismantling barriers that keep women from entering computing and technology fields.
Sinini's master’s research programme comprises an investigation into the use of web-based user interfaces for the visualisation of zoonotic disease outbreaks (zoonosis refers to diseases that can be transferred from animals to humans). The specific focus of Sinini’s research thesis, which is supervised by Dr Hannah Thinyane and Professor Greg Foster, is on providing techniques that can enhance veterinary service delivery in South Africa.
Following the award of the scholarship Sinini will travel to Switzerland in June 2010 to join the other Google scholarship recipients and finalists at Google's Engineering Centre in Zurich for a networking retreat. This will include workshops with a series of speakers, panels, breakout sessions and social activities, and will provide an opportunity for all finalists to meet and share their experiences.
Dr Borg (1949-2003) believed that technology affected all aspects of our economic, political, social and personal lives. A technology rebel with a cause, in her life she fought tirelessly to ensure that technology’s impact would be a positive one. It was this vision that inspired Anita in 1997 to establish the Institute for Women and Technology.
Her capacity to mix technical expertise and a relentless vision inspired, motivated and moved women to embrace technology instead of avoiding or ignoring it. She has touched and changed the lives of countless women in the computing fields and beyond. She is responsible for including women in the technological revolution – not as bystanders, but as active participants and leaders.
For more info visit: http://www.google.com/anitaborg-emea/