Tara's story

We offer a range of support to help ensure that the brightest and best students can access our world-class education. Donor, alumni and supporter development is a key part of our University Strategy. Thanks to the work of our Development and Alumni Relations Office and our alumni community we offer more than 65 donor-funded scholarship schemes, supporting around 200 scholars.

Tara and her cat Tortellini

Tara Kaul, from our College of St Hild and St Bede, graduated this year following a three-year Computer Science degree. She is one of our undergraduate donor-funded scholarship recipients.

Dialogue Magazine found out more about Tara and how the scholarship helped her.

Having been taught programming by her father since the age of nine, Tara knew that she wanted to study Computer Science at university. However, she had initially been concerned that she wouldn’t have many female peers while studying the traditionally male-dominated course. Whilst at school, she attended a lecture held by Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon, founder of the hugely successful STEM outreach organisation Stemettes, where Anne-Marie spoke about the need for more women in the technology sector to overcome gender-biased data.

Tara had already been contemplating studying Computer Science at Durham when she learned of our AMI Women in Tech Scholarships. These scholarships, named after Anne-Marie Imafidon, welcome applications from prospective female students applying to study Computer Science at Durham, and provide its recipients with a financial award for each year of their study. This scholarship programme aims to help women overcome barriers that may prohibit them from studying Computer Science and make the most of any opportunity that comes their way. Upon learning about this programme, Tara was inspired to apply to Durham and the scholarship, of which, she was successfully accepted to both.

Tara said:

Without the generosity of my donors, I’d have really struggled with having the funds to travel, network, apply to graduate schemes and afford some of the resources that have made my time here so much easier, and I am thankful for that every day. I leave Durham feeling happy that many more young girls like me will have the financial support they need due to this scholarship programme.

Support from funders 

The scholarships were founded in 2019 by donor and alumnus Ian Ellison-Taylor, a distinguished software engineer, sparking an outpouring of generosity to the fund from other members of our alumni community.

Former Chief Product Officer of Netflix, Dr Neil Hunt, who has also donated to this fund, commented: “Today’s high-tech industry is fiercely competitive for talent, and we cannot afford to shut out 50% or more of the potential from even getting to the starting gate. Women make up just 15% of computer science graduates – a figure that continues to fall – and this cries out for correction. My education at Durham University was a key stepping stone to the success that I have been fortunate to enjoy in my career, and I want to maximise the opportunities for those who follow. I hope my gift will inspire others – in industry and in education – to cultivate future generations of innovation and leadership from all walks of life.”  

Thanks to the donors’ generous support there have been 12 female students who have benefited from the AMI Women in Tech scholarships so far. Due to donor funding, we will be able to welcome additional scholars to the programme for many years to come.

Tara's continued journey

In her first year, Tara was able to use her scholarship funding to pay subscription fees to online professional tech training platform, Pluralsight. Through this, she was able to improve her understanding of mobile app development, web development using Python, and artificial intelligence. This led to Tara and a team of her friends winning first place in DurHack 2021 – an annual tech event. She said: “This achievement not only gave me a much-needed confidence boost but also inspired me to keep learning about mobile app development, something I would have not known I had a knack for without the scholarship funding.”

As a scholar, Tara attended our Scholars Networking Events, where she was able to connect with other students who receive the AMI Scholarship as well as scholarship recipients across the University.

She said: “The Scholars Network has been absolutely invaluable to me during my time here, and I’m incredibly thankful for all the incredible people it has enabled me to connect with, and also befriend.”

Reflecting on her last year as a student in Durham, Tara said: “I can well and truly say that my third year has been the most fulfilling and rewarding time, not only at Durham, but also possibly of my life.”

Tara is currently studying a Masters in Computational Linguistics at the University of Manchester. 

As part of the University Strategy we are looking to secure further transformational philanthropic support to widen access to Durham for underrepresented student groups.

More information about our support for students is on our website.

Durham University takes pride in the achievements and contributions of its 230 000 alumni and supporters. Stories that cite views, talks and published work reflect the individual's contribution in their personal or professional capacity and do not represent the University's position or endorsement.