Impact Stories from Education Diplomacy/Mentoring Policy Area
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
Fellow featured by She Leads Africa
Fellow(s): Lindiwe Matlali
Country: South Africa
Cohort: 2017
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Growth
Lindiwe Matlali, 2017 fellow of South Africa, was recently interviewed by She Leads Africa about her work in the tech industry and her initiative, Africa Teen Geeks, a non-profit organization that provides computer science education to children and underserved youth.
Knit2code, one of the organization’s flagship programs, brings 8- to 10-year-old girls together with their female family members to teach them basic computing through knitting. The program is intended to combat the notion that the tech industry is inaccessible to women. When discussing this commonly held belief, Lindiwe says, “I want to get them to believe that they can also be their generation’s Nelson Mandela. Africa is rising and they are the ones who will rise with it.”
Read More »Report Date...: 3/26/2018
Mentors collaborate with fellows of Tunisia
Fellow(s): Eileen Brewer, Erin Keeley, Amel Ghoulia, Ameni Channoufi, and Ines Nasri
Country: Tunisia
Cohort: 2014
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls
Mentors Eileen Brewer and Erin Keeley recently traveled to Tunisia to lead and participate in a week of impact-focused programming in partnership with TechWomen fellows. During their trip, Eileen and Erin spoke at Tunisia Digital Day, the third annual conference dedicated to digital innovation, founded and organized by 2014 fellow Ines Nasri and her company, WebPower Tunisie. With Women Leaders in Technology (WoLTech), a non-governmental organization founded by 2014 fellow Ameni Channoufi and 12 other TechWomen fellows, they led mentorship-focused sessions for university students at Sesame University. At American Corner Tunis, the mentors shared keys to successful entrepreneurship and provided budding entrepreneurs an opportunity to receive feedback on their startup ideas. Their trip also included support for training and activities related to Technovation Tunisia’s Spring Camp in collaboration with 2014 felllow Amel Ghouila. Eileen also led cybersecurity training and presented on fundraising during events organized by accelerator Flat6Labs and Founder Institute Tunisia, respectively.
Eileen has worked in product development for over 20 years and is currently Director of Enterprise Security at Symantec and a Managing Director at Golden Seeds. Erin is an engineer and investor who has worked as a tech executive for two decades. She is now the Global Director of Engineering at HGST.
Report Date...: 3/26/2018
Mentor(s): Paria Rajal
Company: MissionU
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Growth
Mentor Paria Rajai was recently interviewed by Forbes Magazine about her work promoting diversity in the tech sector. As the co-organizer of the inaugural Women of MENA in Tech Conference held in Silicon Valley earlier this year, Paria has actively supported women pursuing careers in tech. She stresses the importance of community in helping women grow in the tech sector and having a network of others who believe in you and encourage you, saying that “sometimes that little faith and support is exactly what you need to overcome that moment of self-doubt.””
Paria is currently leading diversity and inclusion initiatives at MissionU, a company that provides critical job skills training and real-world work experience to students who are unable to afford a traditional four-year degree program.
Read More »Report Date...: 3/19/2018
Technovation Training Seminar
Fellow(s): Darya Alontseva
Country: Kazakhstan
Cohort: 2015
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Youth Engagement
Darya Alontseva, 2015 fellow of Kazakhstan, helped to facilitate a two-day training seminar for Technovation teams and mentors at D. Serikbayev East Kazakhstan State Technical University. The event was supported by U.S. Embassy Astana and funded by an alumni scholarship project “Support girls into STEM careers”.
More than 50 people participated in the initiative, which culminated in a pitch presentation to prepare girls to participate in the final stage of the Technovation competition. Six participating teams presented their projects and seven experts evaluated the presentations and provided feedback.
Read More »Report Date...: 3/5/2018
