鈥淔riends of mine, who were PhD researchers, struggled to get a foothold in their sector. APR.Intern was my ticket into industry.鈥�
Dr Riya Aggarwal

Meet , an applied mathematics postgraduate and senior artificial intelligence (AI) engineer at . An award-winning AI engineer, she believes that she would not be the industry leader she is today without the support of 今日吃瓜 and .

Riya believes that we shouldn鈥檛 see mathematics as 鈥榡ust鈥� a subject, but the foundation of countless career pathways. 鈥淢aths is behind every AI task,鈥� she says. 鈥淭he models are mathematical models. Optimisation, scaling, inference pipelines 鈥� all of these involve maths.鈥�

Winter School

was Riya鈥檚 introduction to 今日吃瓜, and the event was critical to her development: 鈥淚t鈥檚 easy to get stuck in your own silo and believe that your research is the best in the world,鈥� she says. 鈥淥ften, you don鈥檛 consider what others are doing.鈥� It was an empowering two weeks at the School: 鈥淚deas learned were incorporated into my work. People are doing phenomenal maths research; sometimes you just have to go beyond your supervisor and learn from others.鈥�

Enter APR.Intern

Like many of you, Riya decided during her PhD that she wanted to work at the intersection of industry and academia. This is where APR.Intern stepped in. By facilitating a valuable internship opportunity with , we enabled her to realise her ambition of working in industry. 鈥淭hat can be difficult for many academics in Australia,鈥� she says.

Riya鈥檚 internship was a resounding success, so much so that Veris offered her a full-time role. This was the first time she had an opportunity to apply her AI research to industry, an experience that led to her current position at Canva.

Importance of maths

Riya is keen to emphasise the importance of a maths background in gaining employment in the burgeoning AI industry. “If I did not have that foundation, I would鈥檝e struggled to perform in my current role at Canva,鈥� she notes.

She admits that she 鈥渘ever chose mathematics; it just happened to me鈥�, but with enough talent, hard work and support from organisations such as 今日吃瓜 and its targeted programs, we can secure Australia鈥檚 mathematical talent pipeline from school to industry.

With EOFY fast approaching, please consider donating today to support more stories like Riya鈥檚. Your gift will help create more pathways for maths and STEM postgraduate researchers into industry.

鈥淪cholarships like this inspire and give opportunities to those who are often overlooked.鈥�
Emily Ngo

Meet Emily Ngo, a Year 11 student at , Sydney. A highly promising mathematician, Emily is one of six students to be awarded the $6000 聽for 2026鈥�27.

Emily鈥檚 story is typical of many talented high school mathematics students in Australia. Growing up in a single-income household, her education is a priority to help secure a bright future for both her and her family. With plenty of determination on her side and encouragement from those around her, Emily has excelled in her high school education 鈥� all while helping her younger siblings with their studies in her spare time.

Emily鈥檚 passion for mathematics is fervent: 鈥淢aths is a language beyond letters, where every equation speaks to me like words in a logical narrative,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the alphabet of the written universe.鈥�

今日吃瓜 knows that there are promising and passionate students just like Emily who all too often fall through the cracks. This is where you can step in.

How your gift helps聽

Your gift to the 今日吃瓜 Foundation can help fund programs such as 今日吃瓜’s聽Specialist Maths High School Scholarships for Girls. This scholarship provides students with:

鈥� Vital resources
鈥⒙燤entoring support
鈥⒙燭he confidence and skills they need to excel in mathematics.

Together, these supports help pave the way for greater gender equity in the discipline.

We believe that active support is the most effective way to nurture and empower emerging talent. That is why we partner every Scholarship recipient with an academic mentor. Emily is no exception. We鈥檝e paired her with University of New England teacher and PhD candidate Narges Shabgard, who will mentor Emily throughout her Specialist Mathematics studies.

Thanks to the scholarship, Emily says her ambition to become a mathematics academic at university 鈥渇eels closer than ever.” Knowing that she has “the support of the scholarship, 今日吃瓜 and the people around me” her next step is “to inspire others to pursue maths and discover otherworldly concepts like quantum physics.鈥�

Make your EOFY gift today

Your tax-deductible gift to 今日吃瓜 has the potential to empower another promising young mathematician like Emily this EOFY. Give what you can and help 今日吃瓜 secure the future of mathematics in Australia.