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Women in Aquaculture scholarship fund now accepting applicants

Norwegian salmon producer Kvarøy Arctic has teamed up with the not-for-profit student assistance organization James Beard Foundation to roll out a scholarship program aimed at women studying aquaculture at a college or university in any country.

The Women in Aquaculture Scholarship Fund will provide an annual $10,000 scholarship which includes a paid one-month summer internship on the Kvarøy Arctic farm site in Norway. The recipient can continue their internship each year they are in school, and will be considered for employment upon graduation.

Applications for the “Women in Aquaculture” scholarship are available to those studying the subject at a college or university in any country, and can be submitted via the James Beard Foundation website starting May 1, 2020.

The James Beard Foundation Scholarship Program assists students from across the food community including aspiring and established culinary professionals who plan to further their education at a licensed or accredited culinary school or hospitality institution, college or university.

Kvarøy Arctic was founded in 1976 by fish farming visionary Alf Olsen and his son Geir. The company is  a supplier to U.S. stores of Amazon-owned retailer Whole Foods.

“We finalized arrangements for the scholarship during our inaugural dinner at the James Beard House in February,” said Kvarøy Arctic chief executive officer Alf-Gøran Knutsen. “Five of our 23 employees in Norway are women, as are seven of the eight members of our U.S. team.”

He noted that historically, like the culinary industry, women are not well represented in aquaculture.

“We are hoping to change that by supporting education in the field and with the opportunity to work at our farm,” he said.

“This is only one of two international scholarships available from the James Beard Foundation,” according to Emily Rothkrug, manager of the James Beard Foundation Impact Programs . “We are proud to support the leadership shown by Kvarøy Arctic to develop the first-of-its-kind scholarship for women in aquaculture.”

Interested students can find application forms at jamesbeard.og/scholarships.

All scholarship application materials must be submitted by June 11, 2020. Scholarship winners will be notified by August 2020.