Impact Stories from Professional Growth Policy Area
Presidential Award
Fellow(s): Elmira Akmatova
Country: Kyrgyzstan
Cohort: 2015
Policy Area(s): Professional Growth
The President of Kyrgyzstan recognized Elmira Akmatova at an award ceremony for scientists on November 8. She was awarded the Kyrgyz Republic State Prize Laureate in Science and Technology for her achievements in the field and her paper on “biotechnology diagnostic tools for infectious animal diseases from domestic strains.” Elmira currently works as the Acting Deputy Director of the Kyrgyz Scientific Research Veterinary Institute.
Report Date...: 11/7/2016
CEO of Technopark
Fellow(s): Lamiae Benmakhlouf
Country: Morocco
Cohort: 2016
Policy Area(s): Professional Growth
Technopark promoted Lamiae Benmakhlouf, 2016 fellow of Morocco, to CEO, making her the first female to assume this position. Lamiae credits her participation in the TechWomen program with playing a major role in her promotion.Lamiae joined the company in 2002 shortly after it launched and previously served as the Deputy Director. The incubator helps create and develop Moroccan businesses in the ICT and green technology fields and has supported close to 800 companies in Casablanca.
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Report Date...: 10/31/2016
Professorship
Fellow(s): Darya Alontseva
Country: Kazakhstan
Cohort: 2015
Policy Area(s): Professional Growth
The Ministry of Education and Science in Kazakhstan awarded Darya Alontseva, 2015 fellow of Kazakhstan, the academic title, “Full Professor of Physics,” in late April, fulfilling one of her professional development goals.Kazakhstan has rather strict rules; only people within an academic environment who publish scientific articles in previewed journals, who have created their own scientific school, etc. receive the title of Full Professor.
Report Date...: 7/11/2016
published fourth book
Fellow(s): Arwa Al-eryani
Country: Yemen
Cohort: 2012
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Growth
Arwa Al-eryani, 2012 fellow of Yemen, has published four textbooks and several scientific papers in international conferences and journals since 2012. Her most recent book, E-business, which was published this month, covers the applications of e-business, such as e-government, e-commercial, e-banking and e-health, as well as how to manage e-business projects. Arwa was motivated to write the book given the lack of textbooks in Arabic.
Report Date...: 6/20/2016
Mentor(s): Eileen Brewer, Ruha Devanesan
Company: Symantec
Mentor Type: Professional and Cultural
Policy Area(s): Professional Growth
For the past four years, Eileen Brewer of Symantec Corporation has volunteered more than 200 hours per year to the TechWomen program through participation on selection committees and delegation trips. Earlier this month, Eileen, director of security appliance, and Ruha Devanesan, manager of global diversity and inclusion, hosted a TechWomen panel comprised of previous Symantec mentors at the company’s headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., to raise awareness about the program and recruit potential mentors. Eileen and Ruha created a TechWomen photo exhibit to coincide with the panel to share program stories, both verbally and visually.
Report Date...: 6/13/2016
Mentor(s): Myra Nawabi
Company: Lockheed Martin Space Systems
Mentor Type: Cultural
Policy Area(s): Professional Growth
Myra Nawabi, a three-time TechWomen cultural mentor, was selected by the Silicon Valley Business Journal (SVBJ) as a 2016 honoree of the Women of Influence Award. Myra, a senior project engineer at Lockheed Martin Space Systems, facilitates the largest Lean In Circle in Northern California. Last week, as part of the TechWomen Fellows’ Webinar Series, Myra shared how to engage more effectively with communities and how to start a Lean In Circle.
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Report Date...: 5/2/2016
Fellow(s): Sarah Abu Nar
Country: Egypt
Cohort: 2012
Policy Area(s): Professional Growth
Sarah Abu Nar, 2012 fellow of Egypt, is participating in The Swedish Institute’s She Entrepreneurs Program, a leadership program for young women social entrepreneurs in the Middle East, North Africa and Sweden. Sarah, co-founder of EduKitten, had the opportunity to pitch her startup to a global audience. Sarah is the co-founder of EducKitten, an educational applications developer focused on teaching Arabic and the Arabic culture. “It felt awesome pitching EduKitten to different people from all over the world who were absolutely amazed by our business,” Sarah said.
Report Date...: 5/2/2016
Promotion
Fellow(s): Gulnora Anvarova
Country: Tajikistan
Cohort: 2015
Policy Area(s): Professional Growth
After the 2015 program, Gulnora Anvarova of Tajikistan was appointed to be the lead specialist for the Center for Staff Professional Development at Tajik Technical University. Earlier this month, she was again promoted to head of the center. “After the Techwomen Program, I have achieved success in my career,” Gulnora said. “I became the first young woman to become a head of a center at the university.” Gulnora is passionate about improving municipal waste energy for and creating an electro power system in Tajikistan.
Report Date...: 4/11/2016
published work - collaboration between fellow and mentor/host company
Fellow(s): Nermin Ahmed
Country: Egypt
Cohort: 2013
Policy Area(s): Professional Growth
In February, Nermin’s research on breast cancer treatment, which included the work of her mentor Bianca and Genentech, was accepted into the European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry.In March, she presented her research poster at the International Pharmaceutical Conference in Madrid, Spain, and received the International Best Poster Award in recognition of the research quality, novelty and significance of the work. Nermin commented, “This is what TechWomen is all about. It’s about giving back, mentoring and empowering.”
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Report Date...: 4/4/2016
She Can Do It!
Fellow(s): Rund Awwad, Maram Damous, Ghaida Khader, Rand Muhtaseb and Afnan Saqr
Country: Jordan
Cohort: 2015
Policy Area(s): Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Growth
TechWomen fellows of Jordan, Awwad, Maram Damous, Ghaida Khader, Rand Muhtaseb and Afnan Saqr, launched the initiative “She Can Do it!”, providing mobile apps development and on-the-job training opportunities. The four fellows developed the plan during the 2015 program to focus on capacity building and job training for recent female graduates in the IT and green technology fields in Jordan.
Report Date...: 3/28/2016
