Zara Phillips visited the Royal Windsor Horse Show to announce a new engineering scholarship programme. The Range Rover Evoque WISE Scholarship will provide a £9,000 bursary to three female students or apprentices who would like to explore a career or further studies in engineering.  In addition the winners will be provided with mentoring support from both Land Rover senior engineers and WISE representatives.

In launching the campaign Phillips spoke about how inspiring both her Grandmother and her mother were in encouraging young women to consider a career in engineering.

She added: “The UK has a rich heritage of women in engineering, encouraged by the success of the ATS. I’m delighted to be supporting the Range Rover Evoque WISE Scholarship which provides young women with the opportunity to progress their career.”

Nicci Cook, Senior HR manager, from Land Rover said: “Land Rover has a proud tradition of encouraging diversity in the workplace. Engineering is at the very heart of our business and we rely on a broad range of talents to give us a competitive edge and help us move forwards. We hope that the Range Rover Evoque WISE Scholarship will inspire a new generation of women in engineering.”

The funding for the Range Rover Evoque WISE Scholarship has come from the 2012 MacRobert Award, which was presented to Land Rover for the Range Rover Evoque.  The MacRobert Award is the premier UK award for engineering.  The judges credited the ingenuity of the Land Rover engineers who succeeded in packaging key components under the vehicle floor ‘with millimetre accuracy.’

The scholarship is the first key activity to be announced using the funding from the award.  The remainder of the fund will be used to expand Land Rover’s Inspiring Tomorrow’s Engineers 4×4 schools challenge into a global initiative – allowing schools around the world the opportunity to explore engineering as a career option.

The Range Rover Evoque WISE Scholarship is open to any woman who has arranged an engineering based apprenticeship or has a confirmed place on a higher education engineering course. For more information and to apply visit www.inspiringtomorrowsengineers.com