Impact Stories from Professional Growth Policy Area

Mentor leads POWER sessions with U.S. State Department

Fellow(s): Lucie Newcomb

Country:

Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Growth

Long-time TechWomen mentor Lucie Newcomb, CEO of NewComm Global Group, collaborated with diplomatic partners to host a series of webinars for Providing Opportunities for Women’s Economic Rise (POWER), an initiative of the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs.
Topics of the webinar series focused on value proposition and product market fit, business planning, funding sources and pitching. Lucie co-designed and co-facilitated these sessions with stakeholders from the U.S. Embassies in Tokyo and Seoul.
POWER was launched in 2019 to leverage diplomatic relationships and resources to promote women’s economic empowerment worldwide. It connects the U.S. private sector with U.S. missions abroad to encourage opportunities, partnership and strategy among women-led enterprises in emerging markets.
Lucie has worked as a Speaker Program Trainer and Curriculum Developer for the U.S. State Department for more than 8 years. She actively attended last month’s SelectUSA Summit hosted by the U.S. Department of Commerce and has recently been named one of the 150 Great Leaders of 2022 by the Global Council for the Promotion of International Trade.

Report Date...: 7/11/2022

Fellow appointed Vice-Chancellor of STEM university in Nigeria

Fellow(s): Francisca Oladipo

Country: Nigeria

Cohort: 2019

Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Professional Growth

In early July, it was announced that fellow Francisca Oladipo (2016) had been confirmed as the newly appointed Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive Officer of Thomas Adewumi University (TAU) in Oko Irese of Kwara State, Nigeria. Francisca has over 20 years of academic leadership and research experience, most recently as Director of Quality Assurance and Head of the Computer Science Department at Federal University Lokoja (FUL), where she also worked as a coordinator of the FUL-RWEYDF Centre for ICT (Information and Computer Technology) for Development and Training, a collaborative effort between FUL and the Rural Women Empowerment and Youth Development Foundation. In addition to these roles, Francisca also serves as Executive Coordinator of VODAN Africa, a collaboration of universities and health facilities across the continent of Africa that provides a “platform to enable access to critical data needed from Africa to fight the novel COVID-19.”
Francisca shares that she “warmly welcome[s] this opportunity to co-create with all the [sic] critical stakeholders to realize the vision of the founders of Thomas Adewumi University through the delivery of accessible, student-centered education in Science, Technology and Medicine.”
Thomas Adewumi University is an accredited, STEM-based institution of higher education with the mission of providing a “world-class academic environment that supports staff and students in conducting cutting-edge teaching and research in the areas of Science, Technology and Medicine …[for] the benefit of humanity.”
Francisca earned a PhD in Computer Science from Nnamdi Azikiwe University and has completed continuing education courses at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Oxford and University of Essex. She completed her experience as a TechWomen emerging leader with a mentor from Google in 2016.

Report Date...: 7/4/2022

Fellow subject of short film on pioneering satellite build

Fellow(s): Kyzzhibek Batyrkanova

Country: Kyrgyzstan

Cohort: 2019

Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth

Kyrgyz fellow Kyzzhibek Batyrkanova (2019) recently starred as the lead subject of a 7-minute documentary on the Kyrgyz Space Program produced by the Eastern Standard Times (EST). Kyzzhibek is the 27-year-old director of the Kyrgyz Space Program and leads an all-girls team on a mission to build and launch their country’s first ever satellite. The Kyrgyz Space Program was founded in 2018 to advance science, education and gender equality in the country and Central Asian region. With no national space infrastructure to lean on, Kyzzhibek and her team have started from scratch, first building a lightweight 10cm x 10cm x 10cm educational model of a CubeSat, a miniature satellite which can collect and analyze simple data from space before moving on to draft and flight models. In the short film, Kyzzhibek explains, “Our project [is] not only aiming to launch the satellite, but also to educate girls and women. More than 100 women [have] graduated our course and they [have] started [sic] how to solder, how to create 3d models, how to code, and [how to] work with Arduino microcontrollers and their sensors.” She continues, “after completing our courses, some of the girls wanted to study programming and become software developers and some [went on] to universities with technical majors.”
Despite the simplicity of the satellite model, the project has already lasted four years and is estimated to cost more than 100,000 USD. The Kyrgyz Space Program raises funds in part through a Patreon page. There, they honor important women from international space history with various donation brackets named after the famous figures, including Shiaki Mukai, the first female Asian astronaut, Anousheh Ansari, the first Muslim female astronaut and Anna Lee Fisher, the first mother to journey to space. The history-making satellite has been named after Burulai Turdaaly Kyzy, a 20-year-old Kyrgyz medical student who was murdered by her abductor in a police station while trying to report her own bride kidnapping.
“We really want girls in our country, our region and globally to understand that they are capable of doing anything,” Kyzzhibek declares. “The world is such a big place, and the universe is enormous. No matter what other people tell you, always believe in yourself.”

Report Date...: 7/4/2022

Fellow helps host virtual career fair to promote global hiring

Fellow(s): Hiba Ghannam

Country: Palestinian Territories

Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Professional Growth

Fellow Hiba Ghannam (Palestinian Territories, 2019) took part in producing the first MENA-wide Virtual Career Fair 2022 to be hosted by Washington D.C. based startup Localized, where she works as a Senior Quality Assurance Engineer. Localized hosted over 60 companies from numerous nations and industries, with sponsors and guests including Google, Nestle and U.S. News and World Report. The company’s platform is designed to connect businesses seeking to build diverse, high-achieving teams with a global talent pool. Hiba held virtual sessions for recent STEM-major graduates, advising them on finding “international opportunities and remote work from [their] region.” Hiba is an example of this ethos as a remote employee for the American startup working from her home in the Palestinian Territories. Hiba completed her master’s thesis in software engineering from Birzeit University and is a co-founder of Palestine Tech Meetups.

Report Date...: 7/4/2022

Fellow makes history with first prize win for biomedical innovation

Fellow(s): Norah Magero

Country: Kenya

Cohort: 2022

Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth

2022 Fellow Norah Magero recently made history as the first Kenyan and second woman to win first place in the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation. Beating out three other finalists, Norah’s presentation before judges and a live audience on June 15, 2022 won the first prize of £25,000 for her innovation Vaccibox, a portable and solar-powered vaccine refrigerator that safely stores and transports temperature-sensitive medications. Vaccibox serves an especially critical need as the world navigates the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, throughout which global supply chain breakdowns have threatened the delivery of temperature-dependent medicine, especially to rural and field healthcare locations. Norah’s winning innovation is a 40-liter box that can be wheeled with a telescopic handle or mounted on all manner of vehicles, including motorcycles and boats. Vaccibox also features a built-in thermostat, solar panel connectivity and other stabilizing features to ensure reliable temperature control throughout use. “VacciBox was designed with our local challenges in mind. It’s versatile, reliable and localised. We’re ensuring that it works the way healthcare workers need it to work for the conditions they face each day,” Norah said.
Norah is a Mechanical Engineer and renewable energy consultant. She is co-founder of both Cool Green Campaign, a renewable energy mentoring initiative for high school students, and Drop Access, a non-profit focused on rural energy access.
The Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation was founded by the UK’s Royal Academy of Engineering in 2014 and holds the distinction as Africa’s largest award of its kind.

Report Date...: 6/27/2022

Fellow publishes study mapping extensive genomic diversity in variants of Covid-19 virus

Fellow(s): Zebinisa Mirakbarova

Country: Uzbekistan

Cohort: 2019

Policy Area(s): Professional Growth

Fellow publishes study mapping extensive genomic diversity in variants of Covid-19 virus
Uzbeki fellow Zebinisa Mirakbarova (2019) has recently published an article on the genetic diversity of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants in Uzbekistan and their associations with COVID-19 severity in the journal PLOS One.
Zebinisa and her colleagues tracked genomic mutations and evolution in SARS-CoV-2 variants found in specimens collected July through August 2021 from symptomatic PCR-positive patients in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. In total, the team isolated 39 whole genome sequences (WGS) to reveal a total of “223 nucleotide-level variations and 34 deletions at different positions throughout the entire genome of SARS-CoV-2.” The study provides extensive helpful data on the pathogenesis and resultant severity between numerous variants among different patient profiles.
This study was supported by a research grant from the Ministry of Innovative Development, Republic of Uzbekistan, and Zebinisa is a Ph.D. Candidate at the Institute of Biophysics and Biochemistry under the National University of Uzbekistan.

Report Date...: 6/27/2022

Fellow and mentor join annual SelectUSA Investment Summit

Fellow(s): Ameni Mansouri, Jeannice Samani

Country: Tunisia, United States

Cohort: 2018

Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Professional Growth

Fellow Ameni Mansouri of Tunisia (2018) joined the first ever Tunisian Delegation to the 2022 SelectUSA Investment Summit in Washington DC. SelectUSA is a Department of Commerce program that facilitates and highlights the jobs-creating impact of direct foreign business investment into the United States by providing a platform for international marketing, encouraging localized networking and providing access to essential services and information. Ameni attended the event as CEO and Co-Founder of Dabchy.com, a fashion community that combines social networks with shopping markets to provide users a platform to “buy, sell or exchange new and used fashion items online,” while also interacting with the posts, images and articles of fellow members, or “Dabchouchas” as they call themselves. TechWomen mentor and Managing Director of Fairrer Samani Group, Dr. Jeannice Samani, also participated in the event as a judge of the Middle East & Africa Regional Pitching Session.
The 2022 Select USA Investment Summit was the largest to date with more than 3,600 attendees, panelists, sponsors, moderators, pitchers and exhibitors from over 70 international markets and 51 states and territories. The event included keynote remarks from President Joe Biden and speeches from several US governors and cabinet secretaries among other notable figures.

Report Date...: 6/27/2022

Marvell mentors and fellows collaborate to promote TechWomen mentorship

Fellow(s): Cora Wai Sheung Lam, Shailja Garg, Nayanika Diwadkar, Khadija Garamanli and Safa Buzgeia

Country: Libya, Tunisia, United States

Cohort: 2022

Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Growth

Mentors and fellows of sponsor Marvell Technology hosted a webinar of nearly 50 attendees to promote the TechWomen (TW) mentorship experience. The event, “TechWomen 2022: Spring Lookback and Autumn Cohort Applications,” was co-organized by various Marvell stakeholders, including mentors Cora Wai Sheung Lam, Shailja Garg and Nayanika Diwadkar. It also featured guest presentations from fellows Khadija Garamanli (Libya, 2022) and Safa Buzgeia (Tunisia, 2022). The event included an opening address, a comprehensive overview of the TechWomen program, an introductory video featuring TW director Katie Zee, remarks from TW Mentorship Initiatives Lead Linda Miles, and detailed first-hand accounts of the experiences of mentor and fellow experiences. The event was launched with opening speaker Kalpendu Pasad, Principal Engineer and Manager at Marvell, who emphasized, “We are at the cusp of a technology revolution [and]… we cannot afford for women to be left out. One-on-one mentoring by the engineering community, at every stage, is essential to ensure that women cultivate a lasting and fulfilling career in technology.”

Report Date...: 6/20/2022

Lebanese fellow speaks on Dubai Business Associates panel

Fellow(s): Cynthia Massad

Country: Lebanon

Cohort: 2020-2021

Policy Area(s): Professional Growth, Youth Engagement

Cynthia Massad, a Lebanese fellow also from the 2020-2021 TechWomen cohort, was recently invited to speak on a Dubai Business Associates’ (DBA) panel for business leaders in human resources and strategy. Cynthia represented audit, taxation and consulting firm Deloitte, where she works as a senior consultant in cyber risk and strategy. She spoke on the panel alongside contemporaries from other global powerhouses, including KPMG, EY and Bain & Company. There, they addressed the practical advantages and disadvantages of building a career in their related industries. Cynthia shares that she was “glad to have participated in this fruitful session with fellow panelists to share our experiences to a group of ambitious young professionals [and] associates.”
The DBA is a component of Dubai’s Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s efforts to accelerate the careers of the entry-level workforce through “skill-building projects and immersive networking.”

Report Date...: 6/13/2022

Nigerian fellow wins funding for youth accelerator in Niger; collaborates with TechWomen mentor for technical tools

Fellow(s): Binta Moustapha

Country: Nigeria

Cohort: 2014

Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement

Nigerian alumna Binta Moustapha, 2014, has recently won a grant from the Bank of Africa Foundation in the amount of ten million West African francs (CFA) for use toward her youth training initiative, Cabinet Hub Zinder. Located in her spouse’s home country, the Republic of Niger, Cabinet Hub Zinder, also called the African Street Business School and Entrepreneurship Hub, was founded to accelerate digital and entrepreneurship skills training for young people aged 18-35 who are not currently involved in critical Education Employment or Training programs (NEETs).
When Binta first relocated to Niger in 2016, she faced adjustment issues when she struggled to communicate in the French lanuage. Binta shares that she was inspired by the biblical quote made popular by Hillary Clinton to “bloom where you are planted,” and began volunteering to teach English as a second language at her local American Corner, a regional resource center provided by the US State Department where people can gather, share and learn about American culture, history, current events and government. Her involvement at the American Corner eventually led Binta to the founding of Cabinet Hub Zinder.
In this program, the 120 youth participants, 60% of whom will be women, will receive stipend funds totalling 42,000 CFA each to compensate their time, transportation and data connection expenses. Participants with Cabinet Hub Zinder will also take part in a financial innovation challenge for fintech solutions internship opportunities in mobile device repairs, graphic design and more. Utilizing her TechWomen network, Binta has also partnered with San Francisco mentor Kathy Giori, who will provide MicroBlocks hardware to support program participants. Cabinet Hub Zinder will be hosted at the American Corner in Zinder, Niger.

Report Date...: 6/13/2022

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