TAIT Foundation Donates $400,000 to the University of Canterbury, for Research and Scholarships

With a mission to encourage Women In Engineering and inspire a passion for STEM, the Tait Foundation has gifted $400,000 to the University of Canterbury, for research and scholarships.

The foundation is empowering the next generation of STEM enthusiasts, continuing to entrench Sir Angus’s goal to “create an industry, not a business” and marking 17 years of supporting UC Engineering

Bryn Sommerville, Head of Communications at Tait Communications said: 

"Great to see University of Canterbury acknowledging the TaitFoundation's terrific work supporting STEM education. The Tait Foundation is a charitable enterprise established by our founder Sir Angus Tait, He directed that the Trust should steward dividends from the commercial business and use them to support education. Over the years since, it has provided many millions of dollars to education from primary school to post-graduate level, as well as to organisations like the NZ Paramedic Education and Research Charitable Trust’s programme to help ambulance officers study for higher qualifications. The university says it has received more than $5 million from The Tait Foundation since 2008. It says this year's contribution (of $400,000) will, in part, support UC's drive to increase women's representation in the engineering industry."

Sommerville continued: "

The commercial business also has strong ties to UC, with experts supporting students' final-year projects and the provision of summer internships for polytechnic and university students, with support from Callaghan Innovation (2023 intake pictured below). Quite a number of these interns earn full-time roles afterwards. Applications for this summer's Tait Communications internships are expected to open in mid-July."