Signing New Commitment Will Empower Underserved Students In STEM

First Foundation is pleased to announce Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Foundation as a new Principal Partner.

This partnership brings together industry contribution and educational support to overcome barriers to STEM careers. It supports students to succeed at university through financial support, mentorship, and work experience opportunities.

Both organisations use innovative solutions to drive positive change. Fisher & Paykel Healthcare's focus on world-leading healthcare solutions aligns with First Foundation's innovative approach to helping first-in-family students to earn degrees.

Neerali Parbhu, Foundation Lead at Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Foundation says:

"First Foundation’s approach of a ‘hand up, not a hand out’ resonates with the Foundation’s trustees. The programme is really helping address the inequity in the STEM pipeline that exists and has existed for a very long time. Too many students are without the financial means, support systems and structures or exposure to STEM career pathways to see and help them reach their true potential.

First Foundation Chief Executive Kirk Sargent says:

“Joining forces with Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Foundation allows us to extend our reach and deepen our impact. Their support is invaluable, enabling us to equip our scholars with the tools they need to overcome barriers and excel academically and professionally."

The two organisations began partnering in 2021 Fisher and Paykel Healthcare Foundation has supported six to attend university. One of these is Helen Thai

Helen Thai, from Aorere College. For her, the scholarship and the mentor it brought signalled a way she could realise her dreams of attending university:

“Fisher & Paykel Healthcare has so many departments and things you can do. My mentor Stephanie is a bioengineer, so she’s been able to help me choose courses, advise me on how to study at university, and help me tackle the first year.”

A projected 80 percent of future jobs will require maths and science skills.

General Manager of Quality Systems at Fisher & Paykel Healthcare is a First Foundation alumna and is delighted to see more students will benefit from the programme. She says the programme has a special role to play in New Zealand’s future.

Roseanne grew up in South Auckland, and she believes early exposure to role models and the professionals that First Foundation provided was instrumental in her success.

“It was so valuable to start the programme in Year 12. You learn the importance of relationships; you learn the dynamics of the workplace; you see how career pathways pan out. The mentoring begins at a crucial time when you need to make a call on what subjects to take at uni.”

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