Impact Stories from Education Diplomacy/Mentoring Policy Area
Team Pakistan makes progress on action plan project
Fellow(s): Zainab Saleem, Bisma Hayat, Saima Shabbir, Shamsa Naz, Sadia Bashir and Saba Rasheed Malik
Country: Pakistan
Cohort: 2017
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
Team Pakistan, one of five teams to win a $3,000 seed grant during the 2017 program for their action plan project, has taken exciting strides to reach their goal. The team members – Zainab Saleem, Bisma Hayat, Saima Shabbir, Shamsa Naz, Sadia Bashir and Saba Rasheed Malik – launched STEM for Change, an organization dedicated to increasing women’s representation in STEM fields.
Only 18% of women in Pakistan are currently engaged or employed in STEM fields. Team Pakistan attributes this gender disparity to a lack of exposure to STEM subjects, particularly among young girls in public school. The team aims to reduce this disparity by leading STEM workshops for girls in middle school and creating a mentorship program and support network for women working in STEM.
So far, the group has finalized details for their networking and launch event, which will showcase plans for the introductory STEM for Change workshop. They have invited potential investors, including NGOs, government organizations, school representatives and parents to the event. Team Pakistan is also currently in the process of designing the STEM for Change curriculum and selecting target schools for future workshops. Their Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Tumblr pages will launch in June.
Report Date...: 5/28/2018
Fellow’s organization signs franchise agreement
Fellow(s): Rana El Chemaitelly
Country: Lebanon
Cohort: 2017
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
Rana El Chemaitelly, 2017 fellow of Lebanon, signed a franchise agreement in Lagos, Nigeria for her organization, The Little Engineer, which offers hands-on engineering courses for children and young adults. The agreement is with Jadesola Adedji, who has an organization called STEM METS that provides STEM programming to Nigerian students. Through this partnership, the Nigeria branch of the Little Engineer will begin operations this summer by offering courses, school visits and summer camps.
Rana conceived of her organization in 2009 based on the belief that exposing children to STEM will better prepare them for future challenges and empower them with new ways of thinking. In order to be more widely accessible, the Little Engineer works with summer camps and schools to provide programs in and around Beirut.
Report Date...: 5/21/2018
Fellow launches STEM education campaign
Fellow(s): Lindiwe Matlali
Country: South Africa
Cohort: 2017
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Youth Engagement
Africa Teen Geeks, an organization led by 2017 fellow of South Africa Lindiwe Matlali, launched the Girl Geek campaign last week in partnership with the Ikusasa LeAfrika Foundation (ILAF). The Girl Geek campaign seeks to inspire the next generation of tech innovators by engaging children in a STEM education program that exposes them to robotics, websites, video games and more. Lindiwe hopes to replicate this initiative all over Africa to reach as many students as possible.
Dr. Zweli Mkhize, South Africa’s Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, was selected as the campaign’s patron. During his opening remarks, he said, “I am pleased that this initiative encourages and prepares, especially our young women, to be capable and ready to engage with this exciting new world we find ourselves in.” U.S. Chargé d’Affaires Jessye Lapenn also attended the event and offered remarks expressing support for the initiative.
Report Date...: 5/21/2018
Fellow presents on connections between tech and medicine
Fellow(s): Fatima Zohra Benhamida
Country: Algeria
Cohort: 2017
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Professional Growth
2017 fellow of Algeria Fatima Zohra Benhamida gave a presentation in partnership with MEDSA Al Jazair about how computer science can enhance medical research. Her lecture was part of a larger event, Talk for Brains, that brought together people from a range of disciplines to show how medicine can benefit from diverse fields, including computer science, architecture and veterinary science. Fatima’s presentation explored the ways in which technology can improve communication between individuals and their doctors or hospitals, particularly in emergency situations. Fatima also touched on the Internet of Things, one of her specialties, and how it can be used to enhance patient care and resolve societal health challenges.
MEDSA Al Jazair is a scientific association of students working under the Faculty of Medicine of Algiers. MEDSA’s mission is to establish a platform where medical students can develop skills to best serve their community as health professionals.
Report Date...: 5/14/2018
Team Jordan makes progress on action plan project
Fellow(s): Hiba Shabrouq, Ala’a Agha Karss, Aseel Almusa, Nour Altobasi and Dhelal Shorman
Country: Jordan
Cohort: 2017
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
Team Jordan, one of five teams to win a $3,000 seed grant during the 2017 program for their action plan project, has taken exciting steps to reach their goal. The team members – Hiba Shabrouq, Ala’a Agha Karss, Aseel Almusa, Nour Altobasi and Dhelal Shorman – are the creators of Ozwah, an initiative that will provide training, workshops and resources to female orphans in Jordan in order to help them attend university. Lack of funding and resources represent major obstacles to pursuing higher education, and this project aims to make studying in university more accessible to female orphans.
Team Jordan has completed their program design phase, including determination of selection criteria for mentors and trainers. The group has also met with potential sponsor companies such as Orange, Zain and the Alchemist Lab and is exploring partnerships with organizations that have experience working with children, particularly orphans, including the Princess Taghrid Institute. The Ozwah team is preparing to publicly launch social media accounts for Ozwah, as well as www.ozwah.com, in the near future.
Report Date...: 5/7/2018
Fellow highlights importance of mentors in STEM
Fellow(s): Fellow featured for her mentorship initiative
Country: Kenya
Cohort: 2017
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring
In a recent interview with Daily Nation, Chao Mbogo, 2017 fellow of Kenya, spoke about her career as a woman in STEM and provided advice for aspiring computer scientists. Chao heads the computer science department at Kenya Methodist University, where she focuses on supporting students from underserved communities learn computer programming. As part of this effort, Chao runs KamiLimu, a six-month mentorship program for computer science students at Kenyan universities that supplements their studies. Upon completion of the program, students receive certificates and personalized recommendation letters. Now in its third cohort, the program has mentored 96 students from ten universities.
In her interview, Chao also mentions the importance of mentors in her own life and success. She says, “I have had outstanding mentors at each phase of my journey who consistently believe in me, which has also given me the much-needed impetus to forge on even when self-doubt kicks in.” These invaluable experiences with her mentors were her motivation for launching KamiLimu.
Report Date...: 5/7/2018
School inspired by TechWomen delegation visit
Fellow(s): Busayo Durojaiye
Country: Nigeria
Cohort: 2014
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Youth Engagement
During the recent delegation trip to Nigeria, mentors, fellows and program staff visited Holy Kids School in Ijegun to introduce junior high and high school students to diverse opportunities for careers in STEM and share perspectives as women in STEM from Silicon Valley. Following opening remarks from 2014 fellow Busayo Durojaiye, mentors gave TED-style talks about STEM careers, innovation and sustainability.
Funmi Thomas, the school administrator, recently reached out to the TechWomen team at IIE to share an update. According to Funmi, the TechWomen delegation “collectively had such a profound impact on [the school] and created a domino effect,” making the students feel valued and inspiring the teachers to take action. As a result of the TechWomen visit, two of the schools’ teachers have started mentorship sessions for students, and four mathematics teachers have started holding math clinics during evenings and weekends. Funmi was also inspired by the visit and has begun volunteering as a mentor for young adults in her area.
Read More »Report Date...: 4/30/2018
eSTEM Morocco holds mentoring event for women and girls
Fellow(s): Nezha Larhrissi, Salima Kaissi, Samia Elhanchy, Sofia Ghacham and Salma El Aimani
Country: Morocco
Cohort: 2013, 2017
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Youth Engagement
eSTEM Morocco, an organization founded by 2013 fellows of Morocco Nezha Larhrissi and Salima Kaissi, recently organized a mentoring event in collaboration with the U.S. Embassy in Morocco. The event welcomed women and girls from all across Morocco, including alumnae of different U.S. exchange programs, such as TechWomen, TechGirls, Space Camp and SUSI. Also supporting activities at the event were 2017 fellows Samia Elhanchy and Sofia Ghacham and 2013 fellow Salma El Aimani.
eSTEM Morocco is a non-profit organization that strives to empower girls with the tools and resources to enter STEM fields and spread awareness about the role of technology in sustainability. eSTEM accomplishes this goal through facilitating trainings, workshops and camps for girls interested in STEM, organizing an international conference and engaging youth in the Technovation challenge.
Report Date...: 4/23/2018
Fellow conducts entrepreneurship training for students
Fellow(s): Nour Altobasi
Country: Jordan
Cohort: 2017
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Entrepreneurship, Youth Engagement
Nour Altobasi, 2017 fellow of Jordan, has recently conducted trainings on entrepreneurship and lean startup methodologies for students in her community in Amman. Attendees learned how to transform their ideas into a viable business plan by participating in activities such as creating business model posters and designing surveys. The session also taught participants about entrepreneurship and to understand difference between innovation and invention. A student who attended the workshop said, “I learned how to open my startup with confidence… I know who to reach out to and how to start an idea from zero and turn it into a business.”
Read More »Report Date...: 4/9/2018
Mentor and fellows lead Technovation Uzbekistan workshops
Fellow(s): Saida Yusupova, Elena Selezneva, Diana Tsoy and Rekha Pai-Kamath
Country: Uzbekistan
Cohort: 2015, 2016
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls
Mentor Rekha Pai-Kamath partnered with 2016 fellows of Uzbekistan Saida Yusupova and Elena Selezneva and 2015 fellow of Kazakhstan Diana Tsoy to lead workshops as part of the inaugural Women Technology and Innovation Week at Tashkent University of Information Technologies earlier this month. The Technovation Uzbekistan workshops hosted girls age 10 to 18, aiming to enhance participants’ critical thinking, entrepreneurship and programming skills by teaching them to think about issues in their communities through the lens of technology. The inaugural event was also attended by U.S. Ambassador Pamela Spratlen and officials from UNDP Uzbekistan, USAID and local universities.
Rekha and the fellows led breakout sessions, challenging participating girls to contemplate social problems and come up with possible tech solutions. Diana and Rekha also shared their experiences with startups in Silicon Valley.
Rekha is Vice President at Stanford Angels and Entrepreneurs and a board member at Fast Forward.
Report Date...: 3/26/2018