The INDRA 22/23 edition of the RADIA Programme for technological training for women with disabilities is open for applications

This initiative is promoted by the ONCE Foundation, the CEOE Foundation and the Conference of University Social Councils For the second consecutive year, Minsait, a subsidiary of Indra, will offer pedagogical advice to guide the training itinerary towards the most disruptive and in-demand technologies; it will provide masterclasses and mentoring by volunteer experts from the IT company. In addition, it will offer internships at the company and incorporate those female scholarship holders who best fit the profiles in demand.

The ONCE Foundation, the Conference of Social Councils of Spanish Universities (CCS) and the CEOE Foundation are launching the third edition of the RADIA Programme, an innovative initiative aimed at the inclusion of people with disabilities in the digital economy and offering employment opportunities to women with disabilities, who constitute the segment of the population with the least options for professional development in technological fields.

For the second consecutive year, the programme has the support of Minsait, Indra’s leading company in digital transformation and Information Technologies, who joins the project as part of its commitment to diversity and the promotion of STEM vocations.

Thus, women with disabilities who want to pursue a career in a technological field have an opportunity with the Indra 22/23 edition of the RADIA Programme to complete a training process, at no cost to the students, which will begin next September and end in June 2023. A total of 50 places will be available.

Minsait will offer pedagogical advice to guide the training itinerary towards the most disruptive and in-demand technologies; it will deliver masterclasses and mentoring by the company’s expert volunteers, it will facilitate internships at the company, and it will contribute to improving the employability of the female scholarship holders, incorporating those who best fit the profiles in demand.

This collaboration is possible thanks to a donation from the technology company within the framework of the Law on Alternative Measures.

The programme is open to women with university degrees from all over Spain, of all ages and from different educational disciplines and professional careers.

It is designed for students such as Ana Marín, who holds a Law degree and says that her experience at Radia has allowed her to “make a 180-degree turnaround in her career”, training in skills she “thought were exclusive to engineers or experts in the sector” before taking part in the programme. It is also designed for students like Carlota Ponce, an aerospace engineer, who says that the programme has given her “technological tools and ideas to work in her sector and make it safer, more efficient and more reliable”.

As in the two previous editions, learning will be divided into three phases that combine classroom and virtual training on the most pressing digital transformation issues, such as artificial intelligence, fintech, e-sport, e-commerce, cybersecurity, biotechnology, blockchain and green tech. It will also include tutorials and inspirational content with mentors from different companies and internships in technology companies.

The first of the three training phases is called ‘Brain Storm’, and its aim is for the students to acquire, over the course of its 13-week duration, knowledge and technological skills to work in jobs in the digital economy.  Once this period is over, the ‘Mentor Women’ phase will begin, which lasts 12 weeks and aims to guide the participants so that they can decide which professional certification they will pursue at this stage. It will include mentoring sessions to help them grow in digital learning.  Finally, they will enter the ‘Real Work’ phase, a 13-week-long segment in which the students will be able to undertake paid internships in a real environment, applying the knowledge they have acquired to increase their experience and learning.

Those interested in participating in the training can submit their applications through the programme’s website until July 10th, at which point a selection process will begin with tests and interviews that will conclude on July 31st, when the final list of those admitted will be announced.

RADIA Programme 

The RADIA WOMEN’S DIGITAL INCLUSION Programme takes its name from Radia Perlman, the creator of one of the world’s most widely used communication protocols that makes networks stable, robust, and secure.

Currently, only one out of every six ICT specialists in the labour market are women. This is compounded by the fact that disability makes it difficult for women to be included in higher education and employment. For this reason, the purpose of the program is to offer training and jobs that include more women with disabilities in the digital sector, recognizing both the value of their contributions and their talent, which is essential for building an inclusive, competitive, and dynamic digital society. From this standpoint, RADIA establishes a series of steps aimed at increasing the number of female university students with disabilities employed in jobs based on the use of digital technology. 

Web: https://www.radia.university/