Impact Stories from Professional Growth Policy Area
Fellow mentors Kyrgyzstan’s first all-women space program
Fellow(s): Zainab Saleem, Kyzzhibek Batyrkanova, Ainura Sagyn
Country: Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan
Cohort: 2017
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
2017 fellow of Pakistan Zainab Saleem is mentoring members of the Kyrgyz Space Program, an all-women team that is building and launching Kyrgyzstan’s first satellite by 2020. The women, many of whom are not trained in STEM fields, meet with Zainab bi-weekly to gain skills in robotics, engineering and satellite technology. The core team, comprised of women ages 18-24, includes 2019 TechWomen Emerging Leader Kyzzhibek Batyrkanova.
Zainab holds a master’s degree in aerospace and aeronautical engineering and is currently working on groundbreaking SAR satellite technology at Finland’s ICEYE as an attitude and orbit control system engineer. She was introduced to the Kyrgyz team by 2017 fellow of Kyrgyzstan Ainura Sagyn after both fellows participated in TechWomen’s delegation trip to Uzbekistan.
After noticing that the space program’s nanosatellite was too far off from its target, Zainab began by dividing the women into teams – a mechanical team, an electronics team and an engineering team – and began developing a curriculum that would help the women reach their goal. “Zainab has greatly impacted our program,” says 2019 Emerging Leader Kyzzhibek. “We started with basics, like making a robot that could wipe the floor. That was fun. Now we’ll proceed with the basics of the cube satellite technology next month.”
Report Date...: 9/16/19
Fellow shares experience on empowering women in tech
Fellow(s): Dalia Shurrab
Country: Palestinian Territories
Cohort: 2018
Policy Area(s): Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Growth
This week, 2018 fellow of the Palestinian Territories Dalia Shurrab was the featured guest on a podcast, outlining the challenges and rewards of helping run Gaza’s first tech hub. Dalia is the social media coordinator at Gaza Sky Geeks, a coworking space and innovation hub that provides programming and mentorship for tech professionals.
The podcast, Latitude Adjustment, features guests from underrepresented communities throughout the world, hoping to inspire curiosity and cultural exchange. In the interview, Dalia spoke about how Gaza Sky Geeks developed its programs to educate women in tech, regardless of their background. One of Gaza Sky Geeks’ main programs, Code Academy, ensures that half of its participants are women. Dalia explained that if a woman is interested in the course but lacks the necessary requirements, Gaza Sky Geeks will invest in their professional development, assign them mentors and train them so they can match course criteria.
Report Date...: 9/16/19
Fellow featured as keynote speaker at energy conference
Fellow(s): Charity Wanjiku
Country: Kenya
Cohort: 2017
Policy Area(s): Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Environmental Sustainability, Professional Growth
2017 fellow of Kenya Charity Wanjiku was a featured keynote speaker and panelist at the Future Energy East Africa conference, held this week in Lagos, Nigeria. Charity is the co-founder and COO of Strauss Energy, a company that brings cost-effective and renewable energy to power off-grid areas in Kenya and beyond.
Charity, who Forbes named one of The World’s Top 50 Women in Tech 2018, shared her expertise on establishing and operating mini-grid systems in underserved communities. She spoke about achieving successful implementation through community participation, community ownership and community understanding. During her keynote at the Women in Power Luncheon, Charity spoke about women-owned businesses in the energy sector. She emphasized the importance of creating business opportunities for women, and explored issues of gender equality in the male-dominated clean energy sector.
Next month, Charity will be attending Women in Tech in Finland, speaking alongside former Yahoo CEO and president Marissa Mayer and other leading women in technology.
Report Date...: 9/16/19
Fellow completes 2019 STEM training for youth in Cameroon
Fellow(s): Mpara Faith
Country: Cameroon
Cohort: 2017
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
Recently, 2017 fellow Mpara Faith concluded the 2019 program for ICT4KIDS, her training initiative that educates and empowers youth in Cameroon. Launched in 2018, ICT4KIDS brings STEM education and community development skills to children ages five to 18.
This year, Mpara was able to expand the program and offer two five-week sessions for participants, each attended by students from different regions and schools throughout Cameroon. Through lessons and lectures, team building exercises and pitch training, the sessions explored game development, graphic design, leadership and critical thinking. In the first session, the students developed their own games using Scratch technology, culminating in a game development competition with prizes for winning teams.
The program’s second session invited participants from ICT4KIDS’ inaugural training in 2018, and included additional lessons on Python programming, electronics, pitching and project implementation. The students had an opportunity to meet with Buea’s local Facebook Developers Circle, asking engineers and programmers questions about their careers. The five weeks concluded with students pitching an impact project that addressed an issue in their community. In one presentation, a student presented on bribery, outlining its causes, effects and her solutions to address it through education and advocacy.
Report Date...: 9/9/19
Fellow holds seminar on TechWomen mentorship learnings
Fellow(s): Zuleyha Achilova
Country: Turkmenistan
Cohort: 2018
Policy Area(s): Environmental Sustainability, Professional Growth
2018 fellow Zuleyha Achilova recently held a seminar on best practices in waste management, sharing her key TechWomen mentorship learnings on innovative waste processing. Her session was held in the Lebap region of Turkmenistan, an area that will soon have its first waste processing facility.
Her talk, attended by local representatives and entrepreneurs, was themed on the solid waste management practices she learned at her TechWomen host company, Northgate Enviromental Management. During her session, she shared common household waste sorting practices in San Francisco, outlining the San Francisco Bay Area’s processing, composting, recycling and landfill practices. “All of the topics I shared can be applied in Turkmenistan in the future,” says Zuleyha. “This new facility will ensure the protection of human health and provide an efficient, reliable and well-operated collection system in the town of Farap.” Zuleyha will continue to support the new facility, and is currently creating a public awareness campaign that educates students and teachers on waste management.
Report Date...: 9/9/19
Fellow speaks about international exchange with graduates
Fellow(s): Ala’a Agha Karss
Country: Jordan
Cohort: 2017
Policy Area(s): Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Growth
This week, 2017 fellow Ala’a Agha Karss was invited to speak about international exchange programs with new college graduates in STEM fields. The event was hosted by IEEE, the world’s largest professional organization for electronic and electrical engineers, and was attended by graduates who are interested in pursuing international exchange opportunities.
In her session, Ala’a shared her TechWomen experience and spoke about how the program’s mission aligns with the attendees’ professional development goals. She also shared with them how to best prepare to apply for an exchange program abroad. “The ladies in attendance were so interested in exchange programs,” said Ala’a. “They became so excited to work on themselves in order to apply for the opportunity.”
Report Date...: 9/9/19
Fellows establish Uzbekistan’s first green tech accelerator
Fellow(s): Saida Yusupova, Elena Selezneva
Country: Uzbekistan
Cohort: 2016
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Entrepreneurship, Environmental Sustainability, Professional Growth
Recently, 2016 fellows Saida Yusupova and Elena Selezneva organized
Uzbekistan’s first green startup accelerator program. The accelerator,
Water Solutions Innovation Lab, was established for green business
startups that are working to advance green technologies and solve water
challenges.
The accelerator was implemented by Saida’s company, Green Business
Innovation, and founded with a mission to create awareness about
environmental challenges and bring the latest innovative technologies to
the agricultural and environmental sectors within the country. Earlier this
year, the innovation lab accepted 12 startups into an intensive six month
program, and became the first Uzbek program to partner with
ClimateLaunchpad, the world’s largest green business ideas competition.
During the program, ClimateLaunchpad’s founder and lead trainer
traveled to Uzbekistan to conduct a two-day bootcamp for participating startups.
The program culminated with a Demo Day in August, held in partnership with ClimateLaunchpad, where the teams pitched a group of judges and local investors. The two winning startups were invited to the ClimateLaunchpad Grand Finale in Amsterdam, which will be held in November. VIOM, the team that won first place, consists of two women who are producing water-soluble and biodegradable products for agricultural applications.
Report Date...: 9/2/19
Fellows win Chevening scholarship
Fellow(s): Afnan Saqr, Janet Leparteleg
Country: Jordan, Kenya
Cohort: 2015, 2017
Policy Area(s): Professional Growth
This week, it was announced that 2015 fellow of Jordan Afnan Saqr and 2017 fellow of Kenya Janet Leparteleg are recipients of the Chevening Scholarship. With over 50,000 alumni worldwide, the program awards global leaders fully-funded scholarships to pursue a one-year master’s degree at a UK-based institution.
Afnan is one of 15 Jordanians selected out of the 750 applications that were submitted from the country. She will be studying innovation and entrepreneurship at the University of Warwick, one of the UK’s top 10 universities. Janet will be pursuing a master’s in cybersecurity at Lancaster University. During TechWomen, Janet was hosted at Symantec, a cybersecurity software company. “My time at Symantec during TechWomen shaped my career path a lot,” said Janet. “There, I had time to meet and talk with people in the cybersecurity field, and their insights changed my thinking and enabled me to plan well for my career.”
Report Date...: 9/2/19
Fellow speaks at international conference in Japan
Fellow(s): Patu Ndango Fen
Country: Cameroon
Cohort: 2017
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Entrepreneurship, Environmental Sustainability, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
Last month, 2017 fellow Patu Ndango Fen was a featured panelist at the Tokyo International Conference on African Development. The conference is initiative of the Japanese government and held in partnership with the United Nations Development Program, World Bank and the African Union Commission.
Patu is the founder of Closed Loop System Ventures, a waste management social enterprise, as well as the president of its foundation. In one panel, “Human Capital Development for Youth Entrepreneurship,” Patu spoke about innovative education approaches that empower and engage youth. “Africa has a young population and is experiencing a rapid growth rate,” she said. “Young people should be encouraged to venture into entrepreneurship in order to create jobs and contribute to resolving pressing social, environmental and economic challenges.”
Report Date...: 9/2/19
Fellow named Next Einstein Forum Fellow
Fellow(s): Fanelwa Ajayi
Country: South Africa
Cohort: 2017
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
This month, it was announced that 2017 fellow Fanelwa Ajayi is one of 25 scientists named a Next Einstein Forum (NEF) Fellow for their 2019-2021 class.
Through its programs, NEF seeks to connect science, society and policy in Africa and the rest of the world. NEF Ambassadors are young science and technology champions who are selected to lead public engagement activities and partner with established mentors and researchers to advance their own careers in STEM. Fellows are selected by an international committee of scientists, and are required to demonstrate how their work is contributing to solving Africa’s leading challenges.
Fanelwa is a research leader and senior lecturer at the University of the Western Cape, as well as the founder of AmaQawe ngeMfundo, an initiative that brings hands-on STEM learning and experiments to local schools.
Report Date...: 8/26/19
