Fellows create Uzbekistan Women in STEM calendar

Three fellows of Uzbekistan, Shodiyabegim Bakhtiyorzoda (2015), Tanzilya Yakshimbetova (2015) and Sevara Siradjeva (2016), are the founders of do.IT.women, an organization that supports women and girls through mentorship and development of computer literacy skills. As part of an effort to promote female role models in STEM in Uzbekistan, support STEM education for youth and create a network of STEM specialists in Uzbekistan, the do.IT.women team has created an Uzbekistan Women in STEM desk calendar. The calendar is trilingual, with text provided in English, Russian and Uzbek.

With financial assistance from an Alumni Outreach Grant awarded by the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy in Uzbekistan, the team was able to print and distribute their desk calendars to universities, NGOs, major companies and government offices to bring awareness about the achievements of Uzbek women working in the STEM fields. Each calendar month includes information about a successful Uzbek woman, and to continue their efforts and ensure that the initiative has sustainable impact throughout the year, the team has scheduled a panel discussion every month this year with one of the women included on the calendar. May’s panel discussion featured Dr. Shahlo Turdikulova, Deputy Director of the Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Academy of Sciences, Republic of Uzbekistan.

One page of the calendar has also been dedicated to promoting the TechWomen program in order to increase awareness about the opportunity for future program participants.