The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) is dedicated to supporting and mentoring young girls in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). This commitment has led to the establishment of 'Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics' Ghana (WiSTEMGh) under the Vice-Chancellor’s Office.
MISSION
The overall objective of WiSTEMGh is to; facilitate women's scientific, technological and leadership capabilities; provide a framework for intra and inter-institutional collaboration and promote a science and technology culture in the society.
VISION
To attract and retain more women in the STEM workforce that will maximize innovation, creativity, and competitiveness. An improvement in the number of women in STEM with more women aspiring to become senior scientists and technologists. To see the benefit of a more diverse workforce with scientific inquiry guided by a broader array of experiences.
WHO WE ARE
The Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (WiSTEM) is an initiative, hosted at the Vice-Chancellor's office, KNUST. In order to ameliorate the yawning gap in female participation in STEM programs and leadership positions; WiSTEM creates awareness by conducting strategic counseling and mentoring in second and tertiary institutions, provides career guidance workshops and needs-based mentoring for STEM career women as well as undertakes leadership training programmes for academic and non-academic staff in tertiary institutions. By this, we seek to bridge the STEM career gap to a reasonable degree between female and their male contemporaries.
WHAT WE DO
WiSTEMGh has been at the forefront of promoting equality and empowering women in STEM education and careers. Since August 2018, WiSTEM in collaboration with the office of the Vice-Chancellor KNUST has been organizing STEM CAMP for Girls annually. The WiSTEMGh Girls' Camp is a prestigious annual event that aims to inspire and empower young girls in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Our mission is to nurture and support the next generation of female leaders in these critical domains. This programme has seen tremendous success in presenting exciting educative and interactive sessions in STEM training to inspire and motivate selected girls in second-cycle institutions to climb higher in STEM education and their respective career paths.
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WiSTEM from August 2021 has also provided mentorship for female scholars of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Cohort 7 of the KNUST MasterCard Scholarship Program (MCFSP). The exclusive, one-on-one mentor-mentee relationship based on practical advice, encouragement, and support, continues to empower these students to identify goals and establish a sense of direction in their chosen field.
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Through the Ghana Power Compact Program with the Millennium Development Authority Project (MiDA), undergraduate students have been exposed to hands-on internship programs in several institutions such as the Ghana Standards Authority, Electricity Company of Ghana, and Energy Commission.
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WiSTEMGh holds several career progression workshops throughout the country. Such workshops have benefited the staff of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Takoradi Technical University (TTU), KNUST, C. K. Tadem University for Technology and Applied Sciences (CKT-UTAS), and the University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR). These workshops are aimed at facilitating the scientific, technological, and leadership capacities of women while at the same time providing a framework for intra and inter-institutional collaboration.
BRANCHES IN THE COUNTRY
To increase engagement and representation of women in STEM in tertiary and research institutions, the Kumasi chapter has facilitated the establishment of WiSTEM branches in CKT-UTAS, the University for Development Studies (UDS), University of Education, Winneba (UEW) and still counting.
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