The Parasol Foundation Women in SpaceIL Program
About The Parasol Foundation
The Parasol Foundation Trust is the philanthropic division of Parasol International and Ruth Parasol and family. The Trust was established in Gibraltar in 2004 and since then it has given over £30,000,000 for health, heritage and education grants in Gibraltar, UK, Israel, India, US, Spain and elsewhere.
Ruth Parasol is known as its Principal Benefactress giving much of her time as a Trustee Director, guiding grant making, continuing to fund the Trust with her additional money and her private family office providing administrative and investment support.
The Parasol Foundation and SpaceIL are leading an exciting Space and Astro science program to create new opportunities and empower women in the space industry.
The Parasol Foundation Women in SpaceIL program has dedicated scholarships to female engineering students and graduates with a donation of $500,000.
The program's first fellows are :
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Michal Pushkov and Sahar Peretz, two junior engineers, have been recruited by SpaceIL to take part in the development of the Beresheet2 spacecraft.
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Julia Saleh and Or Nataf, two graduate-level female engineering students from the Israel Institute of Technology, will receive scholarships to further their Ph.D. research on astrophysical gamma-ray detection and MSC research on space vehicle lunar landing, respectively.
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Dr. Neta Palkovitz, a commercial lawyer specializing in space law and policy, will be granted a scholarship for her post-doctoral research focusing on legal and regulatory aspects of space sustainability issues.
This pioneering STEM project is an integral part of Ruth Parasol and the Parasol Foundation’s wider effort of empowering next generation females to study STEM and choose careers in space, along with other fields of science, technology, and medicine
To create a lasting legacy, the Parasol Foundation Women in SpaceIL program also initiated a study project analyzing the gender gap in space research and engineering in Israel.
The findings of the study will be published widely to encourage international progress.
In addition to the scholarships, we’re contributing $1,530,000 and joining the distinguished group of donors to the Beresheet2 2025 moon mission.
The Parasol Foundation Women in SpaceIL Program supports 3 different roles :
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Beresheet2 Engineers: A fellowship for a two-year full-time position at SpaceIL working on the Beresheet2 mission.
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Academic Scholars: A two to three-year academic grant to help fund living and research expenses.
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Postdoctoral Researchers : A year and a half research grant.
The program fellows, Ruth Parasol, Shimon Sarid and Lee Alpert. Pic : Eran Akerman