Beginning this fall, the POA Educational Foundation Graduate Scholarship will provide an annual $5,000 grant to a graduate student in Electrical and Computer Engineering, who is from Nepal, of Nepalese origin, or from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, or Thailand. Applicants must provide a statement of financial need, letters of recommendation, and possess a minimum A- average. The scholarship is renewable provided students continue to meet the criteria for the award.
The POA Educational Foundation funds information technology initiatives in South Asia and Canada. It was founded by Aditya Jha and two of his business partners, who, together in 1998, founded ISOPIA Inc., a Canadian software company that was acquired in 2001 by Sun Microsystems. The following year, the three entrepreneurs started another Canadian software company, Osellus Inc., as well as Osellus Asia Pacific Company Limited in Thailand.
“Our goal is to help Canada attract the best international students in information technology,” says Mr. Jha, Chairman of the POA Educational Foundation and Chief Operating Officer of Osellus Inc. “Ryerson plays an important role in this field and we feel it is the best home for our scholarship.”
“The POA Educational Foundation is strongly committed to information technology outreach initiatives in South Asia,” says Dr. Maurice Yeates, Dean of Graduate Studies at Ryerson. “This gift is a testament to their dedication and will do much to help the next generation of learners.”
Located in downtown Toronto, Ryerson University, with 18,000 full-time students, is Canada’s leader for career-focused post-secondary education, offering more than 40 undergraduate and eight graduate degree programs.