What began with conversations about STEM identity, career pathways, and confidence gradually became something much more practical.
During the second half of HVISTEM Cohort 1, participants explored digital literacy, personal effectiveness, scholarship opportunities, and entrepreneurship, before putting their learning into practice through community impact projects.
By the end of August, Phase 1 had officially come to a close, marking an important transition from structured learning into mentorship and continued professional development.
Becoming Digitally Ready
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Session 7, Digital Literacy & Emerging Tech, was led by Reina Visiy.
The session explored digital literacy, artificial intelligence, and emerging technologies, with a focus on how young women can use digital tools more effectively for learning, research, productivity, and professional development.
Beyond simply introducing new technologies, the conversation encouraged participants to think critically about how they use them. Being digitally literate today is not just about knowing how to operate a device or use an application, it is also about understanding the tools available to you, evaluating information critically, and using technology responsibly and intentionally.
Growing Through the Difficult Parts
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For Session 8, Growth Mindset & Personal Effectiveness, Dr. Irine Chenwi guided participants through a more personal conversation about growth.
The session explored growth mindset, imposter syndrome, resilience, time management, and effective learning. Participants reflected on the difference between a fixed and a growth mindset, and were encouraged to see mistakes and feedback as part of learning rather than evidence that they are incapable. The session also explored practical strategies for managing time and energy, overcoming selfdoubt, and continuing to grow through challenges.
One of the central ideas was simple: where you are today does not determine how far you can grow.
Finding Undergraduate Opportunities Early
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Session 9, Undergraduate Scholarships & Opportunities, focused on helping participants understand the opportunities available to them and, importantly, how to prepare for them.
The session was led by Ms. Rita Njabeh, with contributions from Favour Amourzang Fri, Nforngwa Faustina, and Nsaingeh Bernadette Burinyuy. Participants explored undergraduate scholarships, internships, application requirements, and the different pathways available after secondary school. Hearing from other young women who had already navigated scholarship and opportunity pathways brought a practical dimension to the conversation.
A recurring lesson was the importance of starting early. Strong applications are rarely built in the few days before a deadline. Academic performance, extracurricular involvement, leadership, volunteering, and the ability to communicate your story are developed over time.
Preparing for Graduate Opportunities
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The conversation continued in Session 10, Graduate Scholarships & Opportunities, led by Ms. Petra Chui, with Nkenen Brendaline contributing to the session.
Participants explored opportunities for Master's and PhD study, scholarships, fellowships, research funding, and international conferences. The session also looked at some of the pieces that make up a competitive graduate application, including research proposals, motivation letters, recommendation letters, and evidence of previous experience.
One important distinction emerged from the discussion: being eligible for an opportunity and being competitive for it are not necessarily the same thing. Participants were encouraged to intentionally build their profiles through research, projects, skills, professional relationships, and relevant experience, rather than waiting until application season to begin preparing.
From STEM Ideas to Enterprise
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Session 11, STEM Entrepreneurship & Finance, led by Dr. Victoria Reilly, introduced another dimension of working in STEM: turning ideas into viable solutions.
Participants were encouraged to think beyond identifying a problem or developing a technical idea. What value does the solution create? Who needs it? How can it be implemented? And how can an idea become sustainable? These questions became especially relevant as participants worked on their own community projects.
Putting the Learning Into Practice
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Throughout Phase 1, participants were divided into six groups and challenged to identify problems within their communities and develop possible STEMbased solutions.
Their ideas explored issues including child nutrition, waste management, water purification, postharvest losses, flooding, agriculture, and environmental sustainability. By the end of the phase, all six groups had submitted project deliverables.
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The process was not without challenges. Some teams struggled with communication and coordination. Others started late, had difficulty getting every member involved, or tried to address problems that were too broad for a single project. But those challenges became part of the learning.
During the Community Impact Presentations and Phase 1 Closing Session on 30 August, participants presented their work and received detailed feedback. They were challenged to define their problems more clearly, support their claims with data, think carefully about feasibility and sustainability, and focus deeply on solving one problem rather than attempting to solve several superficially. They were also reminded that good ideas alone are not enough, teamwork requires communication, accountability, initiative, and ownership.
A Best Community Impact Project has been selected and will be formally recognised.
Phase 1 Ends, but HVISTEM Continues
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The closing session also gave participants an opportunity to reflect on their experiences throughout Phase 1, including what they had learned and what they could have done differently.
More importantly, it marked the beginning of the next stage of HVISTEM.
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In Phase 2, participants will transition into oneonone mentorship and begin working more closely with professionals who can support their career and professional development. The mentorship phase will require participants to take greater ownership of the process. They will be expected to research their mentors, identify what they hope to learn, prepare meaningful questions, follow through on agreed tasks, and actively build the relationship.
Phase 1 began by asking participants to think about who they are in STEM. Since then, the journey has taken them through career exploration, CV development, leadership, networking, community problem solving, digital literacy, personal growth, scholarships, entrepreneurship, and collaborative projects.
Now, the next chapter begins.
Phase 1 is complete. The journey continues.
HVISTEM is implemented through the collaboration of STEM Girls Connect, STEM Women Powerhouse, and Meet The Girl.