Impact Stories from Professional Growth Policy Area
Fellow awarded Schlumberger Faculty for the Future Fellowship.
Fellow(s): Mercy Sosanya
Country: Nigeria
Cohort: 2015
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
2015 fellow Mercy Sosanya was recently named a recipient of the 2020-2021 Schlumberger Faculty for the Future Fellowship, a program that supports women from developing countries to pursue advanced graduate degrees in STEM fields at leading universities abroad.
Mercy is a nutritionist, PhD student and teaching assistant at the University of Texas at Austin. Her work focuses on improving the nutritional status of women, children and other vulnerable populations. Recently, she has been developing and evaluating a digital behavior change tool for teenage mothers in northern Nigeria that aims to both improve feeding practices as well as the nutrition status of the mothers and their young children.
The fellowship award will provide Mercy financial support for her research and allow her to continue leveraging technology to create solutions for young mothers and their children in Nigeria.
Report Date...: 5/25/20
Fellow interviewed about women in STEM fields
Fellow(s): Lamia Fikrat
Country: Morocco
Cohort: 2019
Policy Area(s): Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Growth
This week, 2019 fellow of Morocco Lamia Fikrat was interviewed by Finances News Hebdo, a weekly newspaper in Morocco. In the article, Lamia, an executive manager and strategy consultant, discusses the landscape for women in STEM in Morocco and shares advice for women leaders.
Despite women playing a vital role in STEM throughout Morocco, Lamia believes they remain mostly invisible: “…it is still rare to see a woman praised for her professional success. Yet women undeniably contribute to the development of our country,” she says. In addition to her work as a consultant, Lamia mentors and supports women entrepreneurs, advocating for greater visibility of women in STEM fields. “I invite women STEM leaders to be more visible and sponsor the women and girls around them: push them, support them and celebrate their successes,” she says.
Report Date...: 5/25/20
Daily Nation recognizes fellow for leadership in education
Fellow(s): Linah Anyango
Country: Kenya
Cohort: 2019
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
This week, 2019 fellow Linah Anyango was featured in a Daily Nation story that highlighted her efforts to educate Kenya’s students during the coronavirus pandemic. Linah is a teacher and the head of the science department at a secondary school in Mombasa, and also trains educators on bringing digital literacy and STEM mentorship for girls to their classrooms.
Over the last few months, Linah has mobilized over 65 teachers to support students whose education was disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. The educators – teachers in biology, chemistry, math and physics from multiple countries – have been working together to prepare engaging STEM lessons that they deliver during daily Zoom classes. Linah releases each week’s curriculum in advance, sharing links for students who want to participate in the Monday to Saturday lessons. Each class, open to as many as 300 students, has 15 teachers present who assign lessons and grade students’ work. So far, the initiative has reached over 1,200 students. Linah, who recently delivered a webinar for teachers on addressing education inequalities, says that COVID-19 has further exposed unequal access to learning opportunities. Her weekly lessons, however, have been able to reach students in remote and rural areas: those who don’t have personal devices have implemented social distancing meet-ups in churches and local community spaces, learning together on a projector.
Report Date...: 5/18/20
Fellow lists seven tips for girls interested in STEM
Fellow(s): Ghada Amin
Country: Egypt
Cohort: 2018
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
This month, 2018 fellow Ghada Amin created a YouTube video to share tips, advice and inspiration for TechGirls participants. In “7 tips to select your STEM field,” Ghada, an environmental engineer, lists her best practices for finding a career, seeking mentorship and succeeding in STEM.
In her first tip, Ghada tells girls to begin with their passion – something they currently love to study – and turn it into a career. “You may get tired, but you won’t get bored,” she says. Ghada also urges girls to be adaptive, explaining that by creating more than one plan for their future, they are ensuring their success no matter what. Ghada also speaks about the importance of persistence, as many girls face gender discrimination within STEM fields. Finding a mentor, Ghada says, will help them overcome challenges. Ghada’s final tip is to believe in yourself and always choose what is right over what is easy. “You can be the first in a male-dominated field,” she says. “Don’t let being outnumbered make you change your mind. And congratulations in advance – you will be a pioneer.”
Report Date...: 5/18/20
Fellow shares exchange experience with U.S. alumni network
Fellow(s): Mahina Usmonova
Country: Tajikistan
Cohort: 2016
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Growth
This week, 2016 fellow Mahina Usmonova was invited to reflect on her TechWomen experience in a feature for the U.S. Alumni Network of Tajikistan, a group supported by the U.S. Embassy that brings together U.S. exchange program alumni to share expertise, collaborate and help solve social and economic issues in Tajikistan.
In the post, Mahina speaks about her journey to TechWomen, from finding out she was selected to her mentorship at Mozilla. Although Mahina knew that TechWomen would support her professional goals, she also found a new network of friends, allies and supporters who inspired her to invest in the next generation. “Participating in the Techwomen program has opened up many opportunities to grow and develop,” she says. “I have never wanted to be successful; the main thing for me is to give a feeling of success to others.” In addition to her work as a senior lecturer at the Polytechnic Institute of Tajik Technical University, Mahina is a mentor for the Technovation program as well as a member of the TechWomen/TechGirls Club in Tajikistan.
Report Date...: 5/18/20
Forced to close centers fellow makes online learning free for all
Fellow(s): Rana El Chemaitelly
Country: Lebanon
Cohort: 2017
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
2017 fellow Rana El Chemaitelly is the founder of The Little Engineer, an initiative that educates students of all ages in robotics, coding, AI, 3D modeling and more at their five centers throughout Lebanon. As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded, Rana made the early decision to close all her centers – home to high-touch surfaces for interactive STEM activities – in order to ensure the safety of the kids that participate in The Little Engineer’s 45 programs.
Rana, however, didn’t want to take learning opportunities away from students, especially as they faced increased difficulty learning at home. “I wanted to keep supporting kids and come out stronger,” she said. As a result, Rana made The Little Engineer online activities free to all students around the world, beginning with 3D modeling lessons in building and designing objects like boats, airplanes and houses. Rana knew that not all students would have the bandwidth to run her regular programs: “We had to be very fast-moving to enable everyone to be engaged online,” she says. Her solution was to use Tinkercad by Autodesk, a free app for 3D design and electronics. Word of the online programs spread, and The Little Engineer platform is now used by teachers and students in Nigeria, the Philippines, South Africa and the U.S. “Teachers are focused on getting it right so they continue to provide a great educational experience for their students,” says Rana. “If we give opportunities to students, they can excel.”
Report Date...: 5/11/20
Fellow featured for work in augmented and virtual reality
Fellow(s): Natalya Tyudina
Country: Tajikistan
Cohort: 2018
Policy Area(s): Professional Growth
This month, 2018 fellow Natalya Tyudina was interviewed about her career, her TechWomen experience and her passion for working in virtual and augmented reality. The article was published by Limu Media, a Tajik online newspaper.
In the interview, Natalya spoke about her love of technology that was first ignited when she was a young girl, as well as her career path that brought her to specializing in AR/VR technology. Natalya also spoke about her TechWomen mentorship at Twitter, where she worked on functions within Android for people with disabilities. Currently, Natalya is based in Aachen, Germany working as a cloud technology developer at Ericsson. “I am proud to be doing what I love. And I will be happy that this article will open new horizons, inspire and allow other people to find themselves in their favorite business,” she said.
Report Date...: 5/11/20
Fellow honored at With and For Girls Awards
Fellow(s): Fellow honored at With and For Girls Awards
Country: Nigeria
Cohort: 2017
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
Recently, 2017 fellow Carolyn Seaman was recognized for her work as a leader, educator and advocate for girls’ rights. Carolyn is the founder of Girls Voices, an initiative that trains and empowers adolescent girls in human rights, STEM skills and leadership. Girls Voices has reached over 300,000 girls through their programs, and has collaborated with the UN to create policies that seek to end child marriage, violence against women and human trafficking.
The awards ceremony, held this March in London by With and For Girls, honored 25 leaders of extraordinary girl-led and girl-centered initiatives. Girls Voices was recognized for promoting a girls’ rights movement in Nigeria and mobilizing girls to learn about their rights in order to positively affect their communities and contribute to national policy.
Report Date...: 5/11/20
Fellow innovates to support community during COVID-19
Fellow(s): Zebo Isakova
Country: Uzbekistan
Cohort: 2019
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, 2019 fellow Zebo Isakova has created two programs that provide resources and support to the Uzbek community.
Zebo first established a Telegram channel called “Together We are Stronger,” a space that connects users to psychologists who can support with feelings of isolation and loneliness, as well as lawyers who can answer questions and provide resources for those who have lost their jobs. Zebo and her team also developed a Telegram bot where subscribers to Together We are Stronger can send in specific questions or concerns and get connected to the appropriate resources for their needs.
Zebo has also begun a second project, Media Aid During and After the Pandemic-2020 (MADAP-2020 ), which has already received funding from the European Union. MADAP-2020, which will soon be marketed as MediaAid4U, aims to combat disinformation associated with COVID-19 and the effects of the pandemic in Uzbekistan. Zebo plans to debut MediaAid4U in October with a mobile app and Telegram bot that will assist with recognizing fake news in both Uzbek and English. She hopes that it will eventually be used internationally. Zebo is a project manager as well as the head of the international relations department for the Kokand State Pedagogical Institute. Recently, she collaborated with TechWomen mentor Eileen Brewer in Uzbekistan to mentor over 30 women on entrepreneurship and business.
Report Date...: 5/4/20
Fellow’s lab processes over 40000 coronavirus tests
Fellow(s): Ola Elgaddar
Country: Egypt
Cohort: 2017
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Professional Growth
2017 fellow Ola Elgaddar has spearheaded the testing of over 40,000 samples from both Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to identify COVID-19 cases in the region. Ola is based in the United Arab Emirates as the medical director of Al Borg Medical Laboratories, one of the largest chain of private laboratories in the region. She was visiting the lab’s headquarters in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia when a lockdown was instated, and has been living there since.
As medical director, Ola, who is also an assistant professor of chemical pathology at Alexandria University, is responsible for every part of the testing process in both countries. She has selected and ordered the proper instruments, chosen the reagents and implements testing procedure on daily basis “We are helping the governments of both countries to test as much of the populations in both countries as possible,” says Ola. “Our team is working around the clock to test thousands of samples every day.”
Report Date...: 5/4/20
