Kalpana - She for STEM

In India, 2 out of 3 girls that study Science and Engineering at university in India do not end up in the workforce. Despite having the highest percentage (48.8%) of female STEM ( Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) graduates globally, India severely lags behind the global average (29.3%) with only 14% female participation in STEM workforce. Lack of Visible role models, Gender Stereotypes insufficient STEM experience, and socio-cultural challenges dent their confidence. Thus pushing them out through the ‘Leaky pipeline’.  

Due to these challenges, women (including postgraduates) who do secure jobs quickly fall through the cracks in the formative years. The leaky pipeline for women in STEM exists, especially when transitioning into jobs or continuing to higher STEM careers. The economic cost of the leaky pipeline is severe since the innovation, technology, perspectives, and demands of half the population are extensively overlooked.

Acknowledging the problems endured by women of the modern world, we designed the program “KALPANA” of VigyanShaala. Kalapana aims to bridge the gender gap in STEM disciplines by widening the access to opportunities for every aspiring undergraduate girl in STEM. It’s design stresses mentoring, career development, and research experience to successfully place every fellow on a high confidence STEM path. Thanks to a rigorous scientific approach coupled with personal experiences of the core team of women in STEM from various backgrounds, VigyanShaala has expertise and  understanding that can help girls thrive in STEM careers. Kalpana is the outcome of a passionate and data-driven approach to creating free access to science for all girls regardless of their backgrounds. Kalpana has embarked on fixing the “leaky pipeline”  in STEM.

We are actively working on various challenges faced by women in STEM. Here is a glimpse of how we are addressing the prime issues:

Challenges -----> Solution strategy

Low visibility of relatable role models in STEM ----> Mentorship by leading female scientists

Stereotyping of women’s abilities -----> Programs & sessions with women leaders in STEM fields

Stereotyping of STEM work ------> Career planning, masterclasses and vocational training

Insufficient STEM experience -----> Hands-on experiments and collaborative research projects.

Low agency amongst girls ------> Scholarships and connections to pathways to higher education

Family-work conflicts -----> Workshops designed to prevent early marriage and give girls agency

Through our interventions, our fellows 1) Achieve Career and Vision clarity 2.  Make An individual development plan 3. Gain Advanced Research Experience 4. And Build Networking and communication skills. These experiences and skills provide our fellows a competitive edge for marching into a high confidence trajectory towards scientific jobs or higher studies in STEM at leading global and national universities.

The true impact of what we are doing will be when you go to the doctor and she is one of our inspiring alumni, or the next breakthrough in healthcare, energy storage or the best gadgets are invented by a young Indian who was mentored by VigyanShaala's Kalpana.  Until that day, we are proud to say we have

Mentored 1250+ girls from 80+ districts across 20 Indian states with the help of 100 global mentors based across 15 countries . As one of our Kalpana fellows, put it, “I've cleared some of my queries troubling me ever since I started college. I've met many different people from different fields, learned many things from them. Kalpana sure is gonna leave an imprint in my life. Every mentor, coordinator and people here are very reassuring and dependable. It feels like I can do anything with so many people by my side” !

Girls who were too shy to speak at all, are now engaging in exciting STEM debates and discussing and collaborating on exciting projects with their peers across India.

Looking ahead we aim to build an integrated platform for mentoring-coaching, performance tracking and partnerships management for internship opportunities for fellows. We have set ourselves an audacious goal to mentor and nurture 10,000 girls by 2023 while preparing a strong tech foundation for scale to 1 Million girls by 2030 with quality mentoring, STEM training and career coaching.