Awarding Scholarships & Awards in 2023

Charlene Gunter du Plessis, Sr Director : IPC Education Foundation

Providing scholarships and awards to hard working students who excel academically, showcasing a commitment to electronics manufacturing, and for being an active member of the IPC Student network support the overall mission of the IPC Education Foundation: Developing a talent pipeline for the industry.

During the 2023 year – IPC and the IPC Education Foundation awarded $66,000+ in scholarships & awards. These funds are not only financial injections to support the recipients, but they also assist with career pathway identification and preparing students to start a meaningful career in electronics manufacturing.

$48,000 in scholarships and awards were awarded to student members belonging to the IPC Student Chapter locally:

• $37,000 were awarded to IPC Student Members for their accomplishments at the following IPC Student Chapters: Auburn University, Michigan Tech, Texas Tech University, UC Irvine, University of Utah, Valparaiso University and Western Piedmont Community College. These scholarships are designed not only to reduce the financial burden, but also to encourage students to enhance their knowledge and skills of real-word industry-related experiences.

Adeniji Babalola from the IPC Student Chapter at Texas Tech University said: “I am truly honored to receive recognition and support from a prestigious institution like IPCEF. This scholarship significantly bolsters my commitment to achieving my academic and professional aspirations in the manufacturing sector. I am deeply grateful to IPCEF for their generous contribution, which alleviates my financial constraints and empowers me to focus on acquiring the essential knowledge and skills for my future career. My sincere thanks to the entire IPCEF team for their invaluable support in my educational journey."

Another student, Azeez Adebayo from Auburn University shared: “Receiving the IPC Student Member Scholarship is a crucial milestone in my pursuit of sustainable engineering solutions. The funds will directly support my research in high-performance cellulose nano paper, enhancing its potential in eco-friendly electronic packaging. This scholarship is not just financial aid; it's a catalyst for innovation and a tangible step towards a sustainable future in technology.” 

Student at Michigan Tech, Emily Daley provided the following statement: "I am very grateful to be receiving one of the IPC member scholarships. As I work toward my electrical engineering degree these next couple years, I will look back and remember the support of such a wonderful organization that has helped me to continue furthering my education, not only economically but also by giving me other tools to use as well as experiences. To me, this scholarship resembles an organization focused on investing in students so that we can all continue to move forward together in a world of uncertainty." 

• 10 IPC Student Members received $1,000 and are awarded to recognize students’ leadership capabilities, the impact they had while serving, and ability to plan and/or host successful engagement initiatives for its chapter members. 

• The $1,000 Michael Carano Teacher Excellence Award goes to Dan White - Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Valparaiso University, Irvine IPC Student Chapter.

He shared the following: “It is an honor to be nominated for and awarded the Michael Carano Teacher Excellence Award. Student learning development by any means possible is at the core of my teaching strategy. IPC helps provide extra opportunities for learning about and engaging with the electronics industry and I'm happy to help bring that experience to my students as the chapter advisor.” 

For more information on the various scholarship and award opportunities – Please visit: https://www.ipcef.org/scholarship-and-awards

Additionally, IPC supported various students and teachers involved in other programs offered. $8,000 were awarded to the participating high school in the IPC APEX EXPO STEM Outreach Event. These recipients of these awards include Olympian High School, Mount Miguel High School, Otay Ranch High School, E3 Civic High School, San Marcos High School, North County Trade Tech High School, Morse High School, and Mission Hills High School each received $1,000 to assist with continued STEM education with a focus on electronics within the classroom. For more information and an in-depth overview, please read pages 98-110: https://iconnect007.com/magazines/show-tell-magazine  

Encouraging students to take the next step in their pursuits to enter the industry resulted in IPC sponsoring the students participating in the IPC Emerging Engineer Program attendance in IPC APEX EXPO. The following students benefitted from this program in 2023: Henry Crandall, Palash Vyas, Hannah Nelson, and Dylan Grace were paired with an industry representative who then also serve as a mentor for the upcoming year.  We look forward to welcoming the 2024 IPC Emerging Engineer Student cohort. 

We look forward to continuing investing in the future talent pipeline.