Bangalore, India - June 29, 2010:
Wipro Technologies, the global IT services business of Wipro Limited (NYSE:WIT) and the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) today announced an agreement wherein Wipro will fund scholarships that enable women students majoring in computer science and related programs to attend research conferences around the world.
The scholarship support is an initiative under Wipro’s focus to encourage diversity. The funds by Wipro Technologies will expand a program currently administered by the ACM Council on Women in Computing (ACM-W) http://women.acm.org/ to help women in the computing field attend conferences over the next five years beginning in 2011. The scholarship support fosters opportunities for women to contribute towards innovation and advanced learning. It also enables ACM-W to offer larger scholarships to qualified recipients.
“We believe that an organization’s ability to embrace and imbibe diversity within its DNA deeply influences its competitiveness and success. Diversity holds many benefits, key among them being building a global, dynamic & healthy work environment and encouraging individual talents to flourish in the society. We are pleased to sponsor this ACM-W Scholarship Program, and in general to bring more women into science and technology, and to create better real-world solutions to complex issues that make a difference in improving living standards around the globe,” said I.Vijayakumar, Chief Technology Officer, Wipro Technologies.
Professor Dame Wendy Hall, ACM’s President, said “Wipro’s generous offer to raise the funding for this critical program means ACM will be able to expand its efforts to attract the best minds to the computing field across the demographic spectrum – especially among underrepresented groups.” She added that exposure to the computing research world can be an important factor in encouraging students to continue their studies. “Their advanced education will also qualify more women for a range of attractive industry and academic positions in this dynamic field that has contributed so much to inspire advances that benefit society.”
The financial support from Wipro allows ACM-W to offer larger scholarships than in previous years, and to enable participation by women in both international and local events. Scholarship applications are evaluated at six points throughout the year in order to distribute awards across a range of conferences. Approximately 20 recipients will be identified as ACM-W/Wipro Scholars each year, with individual funds ranging from $600 to $1200, depending on distance to conference venues. The ACM-W/Wipro Scholars will also submit a report of their conference experience, which will be posted on the ACM-W webpage as part of the “In Her Own Words” section to capture the impact of this opportunity on their career choice.
About Wipro
Wipro Technologies, a division of Wipro Limited (NYSE:WIT) is the first PCMM Level 5 and SEI CMM Level 5 certified global IT services organization. Wipro Technologies was recently assessed at Level 5 for CMMI V 1.2 across offshore and onsite development centers. Wipro is one of the largest product engineering and support service providers worldwide. Wipro provides comprehensive research and development services, IT solutions and services, including systems integration, information systems outsourcing, package implementation, software application management, and datacenter managed services to corporations globally.
In the Indian market, Wipro is a leader in providing IT solutions and services for the corporate segment in India, offering system integration, network integration, software solutions and IT services.
Wipro also has a profitable presence in niche market segments of consumer products and lighting. In the Asia-Pacific and Middle East markets, Wipro provides IT solutions and services for global corporations. Wipro's ADS' are listed on the New York Stock Exchange, and its equity shares are listed in India on the Stock Exchange - Mumbai, and the National Stock Exchange.
For more information, please visit our website at www.wipro.com
About ACM-W
The ACM Council on Women in Computing (ACM-W) http://women.acm.org promotes the growth and development of women seeking to attain careers in computing through international and local activities and chapters, educational outreach, recognition of leading women in computer science, cooperation with other organizations, and the dissemination of information via newsletters, blogs, and reports.
About ACM
ACM (Association for Computing Machinery) www.acm.org is the world’s largest educational and scientific computing society, uniting computing educators, researchers and professionals to inspire dialogue, share resources and address the field’s challenges. ACM strengthens the computing profession’s collective voice through strong leadership, promotion of the highest standards, and recognition of technical excellence. ACM supports the professional growth of its members by providing opportunities for life-long learning, career development, and professional networking.
Media Contacts:
ACM
Virginia Gold
ACM
212-626-0505
vgold@acm.org
Wipro Technologies
India:
Radhika Mahadevan
Wipro Technologies
+91- 9945042603
radhika.mahadevan@wipro.com
Mangala Koti Singhal
Gutenberg Communications
+91 9686446789
mangala@gutenbergpr.com
US:
Eric Belove
Wipro Technologies
+ 1 (732).216.6242
eric.belove@wipro.com
Lavanya DJ
Gutenberg Communications
+ 212).239.8740
lavanya@gutenbergpr.com
UK:
Rahul Kadavakolu
Wipro Technologies
+44 792 020 5496
rahul.kadavakolu@wipro.com
Shalini Siromani
Gutenberg Communications
+44.79.6066.3200
shalini@gutenbergpr.com
Forward-looking and Cautionary Statements
Certain statements in this release concerning our future growth prospects are forward-looking statements, which involve a number of risks, and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding fluctuations in our earnings, revenue and profits, our ability to generate and manage growth, intense competition in IT services, our ability to maintain our cost advantage, wage increases in India, our ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, time and cost overruns on fixed-price, fixed-time frame contracts, client concentration, restrictions on immigration, our ability to manage our international operations, reduced demand for technology in our key focus areas, disruptions in telecommunication networks, our ability to successfully complete and integrate potential acquisitions, liability for damages on our service contracts, the success of the companies in which we make strategic investments, withdrawal of fiscal governmental incentives, political instability, war, legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring companies outside India, unauthorized use of our intellectual property, and general economic conditions affecting our business and industry. Additional risks that could affect our future operating results are more fully described in our filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. These filings are available at www.sec.gov. We may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. We do not undertake to update any forward-looking statement that may be made from time to time by us or on our behalf.
