Bloomberg Philanthropies hosted an event on February 2 to officially kick-off the expansion of the West Point Technical Scholars Program (TSP), made possible by their generous support.
Bloomberg Philanthropies Founder, Michael R. Bloomberg, 61st Superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, LTG Steven Gilland ’90, and President and Executive Director of Tech:NYC, Julie Samuels, spoke about the importance of cross-sector collaboration between academia, the Department of Defense, and industry in advancing technical leadership and innovation. The event was attended by cadets and leadership team members from the Academy, West Point Association of Graduates, and the Technical Scholars Program.
The TSP focuses on supporting cadets specifically pursuing STEM-focused scholarships. This program includes two undergraduate scholarships, Astronaut Scholarship and Goldwater Scholarship, as well as the following graduate-level scholarships: Churchill Scholarship, Draper Laboratory Fellowship, Hertz Foundation Fellowship, MIT Lincoln Laboratory Fellowship, National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, and Purdue Military Research Institute Fellowship. The Technical Scholars Program consists of an annual cohort of 36-54 cadets who are accepted into the program in the fall semester of their junior year.
Bloomberg Philanthropies’ support will allow the TSP to operate at full capacity, to include a new technical communications course, a speaker series, consistent mentorship, out-of-classroom experiences, and an end-of-year culminating event for participating cadets. Central to this expansion effort is a new full-time civilian Deputy Director who provides the continuity and oversight to design and implement these new features and ensure a high-impact experience for cadets.
