Zuleigha Patel, recipient of an IITPSA bursary, has completed her four-year Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science and Computer Engineering at the University of Cape Town.
Moira de Roche, Vice-President of IFIP, past President and Fellow of the IITPSA, says Patel first received a scholarship for Java programming at the SSIR online school in 2018, and successfully completed the course each year (2018, 2019 and 2020 for Grades 10, 11 and 12 respectively).
De Roche says: “The idea was always that girls that were successful in this would be first choice for the IITPSA bursary. We awarded her the bursary in 2021.”
Patel says: “It was a four-year journey filled with long nights, a lot of debugging and moments that really shaped the way I think about tech and the world around me.
"The IITPSA has been an incredible part of my journey. Their support opened doors for me, motivated me during my studies and reminded me that there’s a strong, encouraging community behind young professionals in tech. As a woman in this field, having that kind of support gave me the confidence to take up space, trust my capabilities and stay inspired. I am especially grateful to Moira De Roche for her constant encouragement of my pursuit in IT, and for being the amazing person she is.”
Patel is now working as a Graduate Software Engineer at a company called Full Stack, where she has opportunities to work in both front-end and back-end development.
On her future plans, she says: “Right now, I’m drawn to full-stack development and product design, but I’ve also got a growing curiosity for AI and how it can be used responsibly and creatively. I really enjoy the balance of logic and creativity that software allows for. I’d love to eventually work on innovative, large-scale tech solutions that actually make people’s lives easier. I’m especially interested in creating meaningful, user-friendly software and I really enjoy working on things from end to end. Long term, I see myself in a role that combines strong technical skill with mentorship and leadership – helping build great products and great people.”
For more information on how to become a member of the IITPSA, visit www.iitpsa.org.za.
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