A Pembrokeshire woman has been chosen to receive the first Prince of Wales Innovation Scholarship (Powis) from the University of Wales.

Between now and 2014, the scholarships will provide 100 world-class graduates to Welsh businesses in support of their PhD studies.

Narberth-based Debbie Garside, who spent more than 20 years as a successful entrepreneur, was keen to undertake a postgraduate qualification to formalise her status as one of the principal UK experts in language encoding.

She began her research in November 2009 with Geolang in Pembrokeshire. The company is renowned for its innovative work in providing services related to software solutions and geo-linguistic research.

The Powis investment will enable Geolang to develop new products relating to language, human visual perception and internet technologies. Debbie’s research will create a new software code for the company.