Microsoft honors late employee with scholarships for women in tech

Published: NOVEMBER 13, 2024 12:27

Microsoft gives scholarships in the memory of Lior Dovrat. (photo credit: Courtesy) — Microsoft gives scholarships in the memory of Lior Dovrat.

(photo credit: Courtesy)

The scholarships will be donated this year in memory of Lior Dovrat, an employee from the “Costo” team at Microsoft Israel R&D who died from cancer.

QueenB, a bilingual nonprofit organization serving young women who are integrating into the hi-tech industry, will be receiving 15 scholarships from Microsoft Israel R&D, the company announced recently.

The scholarships, given annually for the past five years, will be donated this year in memory of Lior Dovrat, an employee from the “Costo” team at Microsoft Israel R&D who died from cancer.

Dovrat, who had a deep sense of social awareness, dreamed of uniting a love of technology with educational initiatives, the company said.

Before her death, Dovrat wrote, “During my illness and the hardship, I made space for the people around me, and they brought light and love into my life. Even in the toughest moments, the love that surrounded me gave me strength to keep going, bringing meaning and value to my life.”

Scholarships for female students

The 15 scholarships will be awarded to female computer science and engineering students who volunteer as mentors for QueenB in Haifa and Herzliya. The students will also be hosted at Microsoft campuses throughout the academic year.

Microsoft gives scholarships in the memory of Lior Dovrat (credit: Courtesy)

In Israel, in 2023, 28% of hi-tech majors and 40% of other STEM majors were women.

QueenB was founded in 2016 by Yasmin Dunsky and teaches programming to girls starting in 8th grade in Hebrew and Arabic. Throughout Israel, more than 800 participants are mentored and instructed by computer science and engineering students.