Amplifying the voices of our Women Grantees in the IFS 1000 STEM Women Workshop

Published: 2020-12-16

The IFS 1000 STEM Women workshop brought together 23 IFS women grantees from Africa, Asia and Latin America to develop their science communication skills in an interactive workshop co-organised by IFS and Professor Ramesh Laungani from Doane University.

On the December 10, 2020, women scientists from all over the globe joined the IFS 1000 STEM Women Workshop to develop their science communication skills. The goal of the workshop was to create 90 second videos for the 1000 STEM Women Project - a database of videos created by women working in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths (STEM) all over the world to increase the visibility of women role models for schoolchildren. The extensive global video library is freely available for any educational institution to use and provides a resource for schoolchildren to learn about the variety of careers available in the sciences and the breadth of research on-going at a global level.

Participants at the 1000 STEM Women Workshop

Participants at the 1000 STEM Women Workshop

The interactive workshop used a host of online tools to help participants tailor their communication to non-scientific audiences by identifying technical language (“jargon”) and simplifying complex scientific concepts, thereby promoting engagement with their target audience. Learning how to communicate scientific topics to people outside of research and academia is a valuable skill that allows researchers to reach a wider audience, effectively disseminate their research, and improve the chances that there will be uptake of their research outputs. By using the 1000 STEM Women Project as an example, participants were able to gain transferable skills in science communication that are applicable to other areas of their scientific career.

Mary Emeraghi, PhD Student at Benson Idahosa University, Nigeria, and participant at the IFS 1000 STEM Women Workshop

"Expressing myself to friends and any audience outside the field of my particular science has been a herculean task up until the IFS 1000 STEM workshop taught by Prof. Ramesh of Doane University. I have learnt in practical ways how to identify incomprehensible keywords from my work and transform them into concepts that make sense and is absorbable and appreciable to a wider range of listeners. All thanks to the International Foundation for Science for granting me this privilege as a Woman in Science.”

– Mary Emeraghi, PhD Student at the University of Abomey-Calavi, Benin, and participant at the IFS 1000 STEM Women Workshop

Participants interacted with each other and practiced creating videos using Flipgrid – an online education tool that facilitates asynchronous online discussions. The Flipgrid platform is open for use after the workshop and participants continue to use it to make practice videos until they create a final video for the 1000 STEM Women Project. Once finished, their videos will be added to the 1000 STEM Women Project.

Practicing making videos on the Flipgrid platform

Practicing making videos on the Flipgrid platform

Participants expressed enthusiasm for the workshop content and were keen to use the communication tools in other aspects of their careers. IFS hopes to deliver similar workshops in the future to enhance the capacity of our grantees in science communication, as well as supporting the 1000 STEM Women Project which will continue to inspire girls worldwide to pursue scientific careers later in life.

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