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Neel Sundaresan, senior director of eBay Research Labs

Neel Sundaresan, senior director of eBay Research Labs, wants to eliminate barriers to jobs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, known as “STEM” careers.

Last year, with that goal in mind, Sundaresan created a scholarship program that focuses on strongly motivated, high-performing female undergraduates who come from disadvantaged backgrounds and are pursuing STEM careers.

The program, which combines philanthropy with mentorship, and scholarships with career guidance, falls under the umbrella of the Inspire! Program that Sundaresan created.

“The program and the events under the program have brought out the best in eBay employees,” Sundaresan said. “Engineers, managers, and even executives in the company actively participate, working with mentees.”

Scholarship winners are assigned an eBay mentor as well as a senior student mentor from their respective schools. They are also invited to attend the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing conference in Minneapolis.

These participating students have the opportunity for internships at eBay, where they get practical work experience. The two participating universities are Indiana University—where Sundaresan earned his Ph.D. in computer science—and UCSC, which he chose for its strong STEM offerings and its proximity to eBay’s San Jose headquarters.

“I asked myself, ‘What does it take for students to stay in college and pursue their degree of interest?’” Sundaresan said. “I say, give each of them a $5,000 scholarship every year, and they will be less inclined to take outside jobs during college and more interested in staying the course.”

So far, 8 UCSC undergraduates have received these scholarships.

Other companies have found various ways to give UCSC students “real world” experience.

The Jack Baskin School of Engineering gives students hands-on industry experience with the Corporate Sponsored Senior Project Program, which engages companies with groups of seniors by providing real-world problems, company “customers,” and financial resources.

The program was launched in the 2011–2012 academic year with students in computer engineering, computer science, and game design working with major companies such as Applied Materials, Applied Signal, eBay, Google, and Oracle.