Last month Bio Nebraska, Nebraska Cures, and University of Nebraska Omaha’s Center for Public Research Affairs released a qualitative study — Nebraska’s Women in STEM: Listen Then Act, Addressing the barriers and opportunities for Nebraska women in STEM — that explored the following questions:
1. How do a diverse group of women in STEM occupations in Nebraska describe their current professional environments in Nebraska?
2. According to women in STEM in Nebraska, what barriers exist for women to enter and stay in STEM occupations in Nebraska?
3. According to women in STEM in Nebraska, what opportunities exist for women to enter and stay in stem occupations in Nebraska?
The study also included a pledge that states: We have the vision of Nebraska being a leading state in the representation of women in the STEM workforce. We recognize that in order to reach this goal, we must work together to reduce the barriers that prevent the growth of women in STEM careers. I pledge my support to contribute in the efforts to recruit and retain women in STEM fields across our state.
Pledgers can sign as individuals or as organizations; the focus is the commitment to women in STEM and the reduction to barriers that prevent their growth.
I signed as an individual, and UNeTech Institute signed as an organization.
The best example of UNeTech’s support for women in STEM is Opportunity Corps 2022, our ten-month education program, modeled loosely after the National Science Foundation’s Innovation Corps. Opportunity Corps matches women academic and industry professionals in Science, Technology, Arts, Engineering, and Math with women in those subject areas.
The program focuses on a different subject each month, with a one-day educational workshop session featuring special guests from the community, as well as one-on-one mentoring sessions with the mentors each month.
The 2022 schedule includes 25 women and 5 mentors and features the following training topics:
- February 11, 2022: Intros, Welcome, What is tech transfer?
- March 11, 2022: Business Models & Customer Discovery
- April 8, 2022: Value Propositions
- May 13, 2022: Customer Profile
- June 10, 2022: Ecosystem and Channels
- July 8, 2022: Customer Relationships
- August 12, 2022: Revenue Streams
- September 9, 2022: Activities, Resources, and Partners
- October 14, 2022: Team Presentations
- November 4, 2022: Graduation and Celebration
We are proud to partner with Bio Nebraska on Opportunity Corps, and even more proud that the programming supports the requirements for the pledge for the Nebraska’s Women in STEM: Listen Then Act, Addressing the barriers and opportunities for Nebraska women in STEM study. Helping to eliminate barriers for women in STEM is a crucial goal for this cohort of Opportunity Corps. We would love to learn about the programming your organization is involved with and how we can support your work.