The Progress Akanksha Scholarship for Women in STEM 2026

Progress is the trusted provider of AI-powered digital experiences and infrastructure software to help businesses achieve their goals. With Progress products, customers can develop, deploy and manage responsible AI-powered applications and digital experiences with agility and ease. We work hard every day to positively impact our people, our communities and our planet. These three pillars form the foundation of our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program, Progress for Tomorrow.

We created the Progress Akanksha Scholarship for Women to encourage women's participation in STEM, especially in computer science and technology careers. The scholarship is aimed at students who demonstrate strong academic potential but face financial constraints. Akanksha (origin: Sanskrit) translates to Aspire, which is a state of mind and spirit to seek progress and overcome challenges with grit and determination.

The scholarship is awarded to two recipients annually.

Award - An annual scholarship up to INR 1,50,000 with the exact amount to be determined based on the student’s financial need at her university.

This application incudes:

·       Resume/CV

·       Copy of XII-Marks Sheet

·       Government ID/Aadhaar Card

·       JEE/CET scorecard or university entrance exam scorecard (whichever applicable)

·       Proof of current year admission (University Admission Letter, fee receipt, institution identity card)

·       Family Income Certificate or BPL (or similar) – (Income proof (Form 16A/income certificate issued by government authority/salary slips, etc.)

·       Essay

The recipient of the Progress Akanksha Scholarship for Women in STEM must meet the following eligibility requirements:

1. Be a woman with Indian citizenship

2. Enrolled in the first year of under-graduation program (B.E/BTech) and major in Computer Science Engineering (CSE), Computer Science Information Technology (CSIT), or related courses

3. Aggregate marks secured in XII standard examination must be 75% or above

4. Family income must not exceed INR 5,00,000

Exclusions

1. Progress employees, board members and their families are not eligible

2. Students in graduate school are not eligible

For the purpose of this scholarship, STEM is defined as computer science, software engineering, IT and/or computer information systems

Scholarship recipients will be chosen based on academic achievement, financial need, interest and experience in computer science, software engineering, IT and/or computer information systems, and personal attributes that exemplify qualities, including, but not limited to, high personal integrity, a passion for learning and spirit to seek progress and overcome challenges with grit and determination.