Wise continues with scholarships for women: "Doors of the tech world should be equally open to everyone, regardless of gender"

According to Säde, IT has been the field where she has been able to truly demonstrate her capabilities. She feels that the scholarship will give her more opportunities to support women who have experienced discrimination—something that Säde has experienced firsthand, being transgender. "I am extremely happy that, thanks to active interest groups, Estonian society is moving in a direction where gender no longer means a mark on the birth certificate but is part of every person's right to self-determination," she said.

Säde Pesti caught the committee's attention with her impressive achievements. She graduated from high school with a gold medal and passed the math exam with a score of 99. In addition, she has placed in the top three in several national Olympiads in astronomy, physics, mathematics, and science. Säde has also participated in international astronomy and science competitions, where she has won medals and special prizes.

"In the future, I’m hoping to work with data either as a data analyst or a data scientist," Säde shares her career goals. "I believe that thorough analysis and professional use of data is crucial because decisions that affect our daily lives are based on data, both at the state level and in large companies. The Wise scholarship gives me the opportunity to develop myself in this field further."

Sandra Horma, Head of FinCrime Operations at Wise, explains the necessity of Wise Start student scholarships: "The doors of the tech world should be equally open to everyone, regardless of gender. Today, however, we still see a distinctly lower proportion of women in positions requiring technological knowledge, and this declines further when looking at leadership positions. To balance the equation, we at Wise have created several support and mentoring programs and are introducing IT to a wider audience, including youngsters. Our goal is for more girls and women to see what exciting career opportunities the world of technology offers."

Wise supports women students of the Computer Science Institute of the University of Tartu for the third time in a row and plans to continue doing so. This academic year’s autumn semester scholarship was awarded to Yaroslava Mykhailenko, a Master's student with Ukrainian roots. In addition to financial support, recipients receive mentoring with top experts from Wise and networking opportunities. Applications for the next Wise Start scholarship will open in the fall; more information can be found at the beginning of the academic year on wise.jobs. To apply for a scholarship, a student must fill out the application form on the University of Tartu Foundation website, attach their CV, and write a motivation letter about their greatest achievement.