Partners and Sponsors
The Women and Girls in STEMI Seminar
The Women & Girls in STEMI Seminar is a flagship initiative aimed at increasing access, promoting equity, and empowering young women to pursue careers in STEM fields. This seminar seeks to bridge the gender gap in STEMI by providing high school learners and university students with direct engagement opportunities with accomplished female professionals in these fields.
The Women & Girls in STEMI Seminar is a flagship initiative aimed at increasing access, promoting equity, and empowering young women to pursue careers in STEM fields. This seminar seeks to bridge the gender gap in STEMI by providing high school learners and university students with direct engagement opportunities with accomplished female professionals in these fields.
The primary objectives of the seminar are to:
- Expose female high school learners to career opportunities in STEMI fields and inspire them through interaction with successful women in STEMI.
- Address gender disparities by tackling the barriers that prevent young women from entering and thriving in STEMI careers.
- Increase access to higher education by providing learners with information on entry requirements, available scholarships, and mentorship programs.
- Create a supportive STEMI network for female students through role modelling, peer engagement, and mentorship.
- This seminar aligns with Women’s Month commemorations and represents an ongoing commitment to fostering gender equity in STEMI education and careers.
- Inspirational Keynote & Panel Discussions: Accomplished women in STEM fields will share their journeys, highlighting challenges and triumphs, to inspire and motivate young women.
- Hands-on STEM Exposure: Learners will visit university laboratories, conduct live experiments, and gain practical insights into real-world STEM applications.
- Career Guidance & Exhibitions: Representatives from universities, government agencies, and private sector STEM organisations will provide insights into career pathways, funding opportunities, and industry expectations.
- STEM Educator Engagement: The seminar will include dedicated sessions for STEM teachers to discuss classroom challenges, exchange best practices, and explore strategies for improving STEM education for girls.
The seminar will bring together 400 high school learners (from historically disadvantaged communities in Emfuleni, Heidelberg, Midvaal, and Metsimaholo). One Hundred (100) VUT students who are currently pursuing STEM degrees. STEMI teachers and mentors who play a critical role in shaping young minds. This initiative is a strategic pipeline development program, ensuring that young women have the knowledge, confidence, and support to transition from high school to university and beyond. The seminar will also serve as a recruitment and brand promotion drive for VUT, encouraging participating learners to enrol in its STEM programs.
- Increased Female STEMI Enrolment: Encouraging more young women to pursue STEMI courses at tertiary institutions.
- Improved Retention & Success Rates: Providing mentorship and career guidance ensures female students persist and excel in STEM fields.
- Workforce Transformation: Contributing to a more diverse and inclusive STEMI workforce by addressing gender imbalances at the foundational level.
- By investing in this initiative, we are equipping young women with the tools, knowledge, and confidence they need to succeed in STEMI, breaking barriers, and ensuring that future generations of female scientists, engineers, and innovators have equal access to opportunities in these fields.
This event will also provide an opportunity for engagement with STEMI teachers from surrounding schools, fostering discussions on challenges they encounter in teaching STEMI-related subjects and exploring potential solutions. Through this initiative, participants will:
- be awarded an opportunity to visit laboratories and engage in live experiments;
- be assisted in making correct career choices;
- share their experiences with classmates back at school;
- encourage learners’ interest in innovation and entrepreneurship;
- be educated about different opportunities in the STEMI sector
The program will include career exhibitions from government agencies, private entities in the STEM environment, VUT departments and faculties.Â
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The involvement of your organisation in this event will have the following benefits:
- Acknowledgement throughout the event as an exhibitor;
- Use of company/organisational logo on the invitations, program, and promotional items;
- Display banners and any promotional material at the venue to raise the profile of your company;
- Interaction with our VIP guests, learners, teachers, students, and staff of VUT;
- An exhibition stands to display/promote products and services at the seminar venue.
This project was put together guided by the vision and mission statement of the university, namely:
Vision
An African university that leads in quality teaching and learning informed by research and driven by innovation and technology.
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Mission
- To produce employable and entrepreneurial graduates who can impact society. Adopting cutting-edge technology and teaching methods.
- Creating a scholarly environment conducive to knowledge creation, learning, and innovation.
- Develop a program qualification mix that meets the needs of African society and beyond.
The above is confirmed by our motto: Inspiring thought. Shaping talent!
The STEMIÂ is utilised as a student recruitment and brand promotion drive to have learners attend the event and eventually enrol at VUT for their studies. The same cohort participating in the seminar can be enrolled in the Winter School Program (Project B of this proposal) to ensure a seamless transition and introduction to the program. Moreover, learners get to benefit from the following:
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Clarifying Pathways to Enrolment
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Access to university entry requirements, an outline of the academic and non-academic requirements for enrolling in STEMI programs, including pre-requisites and application processes, and a presentation of available resources such as scholarships and mentorship programs.
Hands-on Exposure
Provide practical demonstrations and an opportunity to go to laboratories and participate in live experiments.
Social and Emotional Support
Create a supportive network emphasising the importance of finding a community of peers and mentors who can provide support during the journey of becoming a STEMI student. This also helps with encouraging resilience by highlighting strategies for overcoming setbacks, time management, and staying motivated through challenging times.Â
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