The University of Sydney has announced an AUS$100 million ($63 million) gift from the Khuda Family Foundation in support of a 20-year program designed to help girls and young women from western Sydney study science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

The largest gift ever made to the university will fund a program that starts in high school and includes tutoring, mentoring, and university scholarships. The Khuda Family Foundation STEM Program will include three stages: an outreach program for early high school-aged students; a STEM academy in high schools for older and near-graduating high school students; and a scholars program with guaranteed stipends for university students.

Robin Khuda, founder and CEO of Australian-founded data centre business AirTrunk, established the family foundation with a focus on improving STEM skills and increasing the number of women in technology. The program aims to address the persistent under-representation of women studying and working in historically male-dominated STEM degrees and employment by attracting more girls to STEM subjects in school, then retaining and supporting them through tertiary studies to pursue STEM careers.

“The Khuda Family Foundation and the University of Sydney have created this program together to contribute to correcting gender-based perceptions of STEM abilities among parents and educators and to encourage gender equity in STEM industries and workplaces,” said University of Sydney vice-chancellor and president Mark Scott. “We’re honored that Robin has chosen to partner with the university to address this critical issue and excited by the possibilities of this program to create meaningful change of long-standing benefit to the participants and to the broader community.”

(Photo credit: Getty Images/monkeybusinessimages)