Women in Sports Tech Awards Fifteen Summer Fellowships
The awarded students are from Harvard, University of North Carolina, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of San Francisco and More
Students will have the opportunity to gain real world experience in sports technology at companies such as U.S. Ski & Snowboard, Learn to Win, Zoomph and Sports Innovation Lab
MILL VALLEY, CA – May 19, 2020 – Today, Women in Sports Tech, Inc. (WiST) announced that they have awarded a record 15 summer fellowships to female students from Harvard, University of North Carolina, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and University of San Francisco to name a few. These fellowships are in the form of $5,000 grants for students to pursue summer projects in sports technology. This year’s total number of awards has nearly quadrupled from 2019, when WiST gave out four awards.
WiST Fellowships provide exceptional opportunities for female students to participate in summer internships, an integral part of resume building, networking and building career skills that can help propel these women into exciting roles in the sports tech industry. This year’s winning students will gain real-world experience at companies such as Sports Innovation Lab, Zoomph, Learn to Win and U.S. Ski & Snowboard and their work will span the array of what’s possible in sports technology – from data analytics to sports science to product design and development and more.
“We’re thrilled to be able to nearly quadruple fellowships in 2020 during the summer of a global pandemic, when many students may not be able to gain this valuable experience,” said Neda Tabatabaie, WiST Board Chair and Vice President, Business Intelligence for the San Jose Sharks. “We’re extremely grateful that our corporate partners and private donors have been so supportive and will enable these fellows to jump in and start their professional journey – even if that means doing it remotely.”
WiST expanded its Fellowship program this year to offer access to a greater diversity of opportunities including company defined internships at businesses and start-ups. Previously, the program was exclusively for student-created projects.
“Nike has proudly supported WiST over the past two years as they’ve expanded their cutting edge work and attracted an exceptionally talented pool of fellows. The energy, excitement, creativity and knowledge of these amazing fellows is inspiring. I look forward to continued engagement as a WiST board member,” said Jarvis Sam, Senior Director, Talent Sourcing and Diversity Recruitment Programs at Nike, Inc.
Last year’s fellows worked for organizations such as Turnkey Intelligence (now Marketcast), Brooks Running and the US Army Special Forces. 2019 WiST Fellow and Ph.D. Candidate in Mechanical Engineering at Vanderbilt University, with a research focus on biomechanics, Emily Matijevich says, “As I look towards finishing graduate school later this year, and look towards finding my first full time job in this challenging economic climate, I’m so grateful that WiST has not only provided me an important support system, but also the environment to develop my confidence with networking.”
WiST is made up of women and men working together to change the gender ratio in the sports technology industry. This surging field includes such endeavors as talent identification, sports performance and assistive technologies, fan engagement, digital media and content, and e-sports.
About Women in Sports Tech, Inc.
WiST is a non-profit organization driving growth opportunities for women in sports tech and innovation, from interns to executive leadership roles, while providing a pathway for highly motivated college students to discover and explore opportunities within the field. Corporate support includes Nike, IBM Sports, the NBA, Spartan Race, and Catapult Sports. To learn more about how WiST is working to #ChangeTheRatio for women, go to womeninsportstech.org.
Additional WiST programs include hosting panels at conferences and events globally on a wide range of sports technology topics as well as diversity and inclusion initiatives including events at Hashtag Sports, CES, MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, the Stanford Graduate School of Business Sports Innovation Conference and more.
