STEM Girls Connect

🌳This is what mentorship can look like beyond the mentorship sessions.

During this year’s FSC Forest Week, our HVI-STEM mentee Audrey-fanny Olivia TICKY NTEMA had the opportunity to participate in activities at the University of Douala, following an invitation from her mentor, Dr Seraphine Mokake.

Audrey joined HVI-STEM with a clear interest in forest certification, so we intentionally searched for a mentor whose work aligned with that interest. That search led us to Dr Mokake through LinkedIn.

Seeing this connection already giving Audrey opportunities to experience her field of interest is exactly what we hoped for when we designed the mentorship phase of HVI-STEM.

A special thank you to Dr Seraphine Mokake for embracing this mentorship and creating opportunities for Audrey-fanny to learn, experience and grow.

We are grateful to have mentors who are willing to open doors and bring young women closer to the spaces they aspire to be in.

WomenInSTEM

🎓 Interested in pursuing a fully funded PhD or postdoctoral research opportunity in STEM?

The Schlumberger Foundation Faculty for the Future Fellowship supports women from developing and emerging economies pursuing advanced studies in STEM fields at leading universities abroad.

STEM Women Powerhouse is hosting a Schlumberger Faculty for the Future Scholarship Information Session, featuring a Faculty for the Future alumna who will share her experience, insights, and practical guidance on pursuing this opportunity.

📌 What you’ll learn:
• Scholarship eligibility and requirements
• Application process and key components
• How to prepare a competitive application
• The scholar experience and opportunities
• Lessons from an alumna’s journey
• Live Q&A

🔗 Register here:
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/eNV9vmv-SFKgNsKDeB0Trg

If you’re a woman in STEM considering advanced studies and looking for funding opportunities, this is a session worth attending.

🎥 The recording is now available!

For those who couldn’t attend our session on the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at Arizona State University, or those who would like to revisit the conversation, the full recording is now available on our YouTube channel.

🔗 Watch here: https://youtu.be/kxoGcc8Dufc

A huge thank you once again to our speakers, Aben Cistus and Yupapet Keitany, for taking the time to share their experiences, insights and practical guidance with prospective applicants. We truly appreciate your openness and willingness to give back. 💚

And thank you to everyone who joined us and contributed to the conversation through your questions and participation.

We hope the recording is helpful as you prepare your applications, and we encourage you to share it with someone who might benefit.

🎓 WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO SECURE ONE OF 30 MASTERCARD FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIPS AT ASU?

Arizona State University is offering 30 fully funded graduate study opportunities for young African professionals through the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program.

Join us for a live session with two current scholars:

🎤 Aben Cistus Tita 🇨🇲
Founder, ACT Foundation
2026 Mastercard Foundation Scholar
MS Modern Energy Production and Sustainable Use

🎤 Keitany Yupapet 🇰🇪
2026 Mastercard Foundation Scholar
MS Clean Energy Systems

They will share insights from their application journeys and practical guidance for prospective applicants.

📅 Tuesday, 15 September 2026
⏰ 8:00 PM WAT
📍 Google Meet
🔗 https://meet.google.com/aov-qguw-cyd

The scholarship application deadline is 27 September 2026, so come prepared with your questions and share this with someone who needs the opportunity!

𝗣𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝟭 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝘄𝗿𝗮𝗽! 🎉 𝗛𝗩𝗜-𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗠 𝗖𝗼𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝟭 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝗻𝗲-𝗼𝗻-𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 💜💚

From digital skills to growth mindset, scholarships, and entrepreneurship, our cohort closed out Phase 1 with six real STEM solutions built for their own communities, tackling nutrition, waste, water, agriculture, flooding, and sustainability.

Six groups. Six deliverables. One Best Community Impact Project selected, recognition coming soon 👀

A special thank you to Dr.Edna Visiy, our CEO at STEM Girls Connect, and Dr. Irine Chenwi, Co-Founder at STEM Women Powerhouse. They've been at the core of this program from day one 🙏 And to Reina Visiy, for coordinating the program, making sure information reached everyone on time, and keeping everything running smoothly on the technical side

Huge thank you to our speakers this round: Reina Visiy, Dr. Neba Irine, Rita Njabeh, Petra Chui, and Dr. Victoria Reilly, plus our amazing contributors Favour Amourzang Fri, Nforngwa Faustina, Nsaingeh Bernadette Burinyuy, Nkenen Brendaline, and Akwanwi Relindis 🙏

We also thank Dr. Agbor Evelyn and Dr. Calister Makebe for their invaluable feedback on our Community Impact Projects 🙏

And to our hosts, Dr. Irine Chenwi, Dr. Edna Visiy, and Lemnyuy Telma, thank you for guiding these conversations.

The learning became action. Four weeks of sessions turned into six real community solutions. Now, Phase 2 one-on-one mentorship begins: research your mentor, show up prepared, take initiative, follow through

Grateful always to our partners, STEM Women Powerhouse and Meet The Girl-MTG 💜

WomenInScience WomenInEngineering STEMLeadership YouthEmpowerment Cameroon

🎓 Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at UBC Info Session

Our Info Session recording is now available!

We had the pleasure of learning directly from current Mastercard Foundation Scholars at UBC, Akwanwi Relindis Fru, Abubakarr Barrie, and Adewale Samuel Jokanola, who shared practical insights and guidance from their own application journeys.

A big thank you to all our speakers for taking the time to share their experiences and answer participants’ questions. We also appreciate Kehinde Yusuf, who joined the conversation and provided additional insights on some aspects of the application process.

A special thank you to Akwanwi Relindis Fru, one of our very own STEM Girls Connect members, whose initiative made this session possible. We are especially grateful to see her continue to give back to the community, opening doors, sharing opportunities, and helping others navigate paths she has walked herself.

Thank you to everyone who joined us and contributed to the conversation!

📺 Watch the session:
https://youtu.be/lUdCMvEO5ww

AfricanStudents

🎓✨ APPLYING FOR THE MASTERCARD FOUNDATION SCHOLARS PROGRAM AT UBC? THIS SESSION IS FOR YOU! 🇨🇦

Do you have a background in Forestry, Agriculture, Environmental Science, Food Science, Economics, Computer Science, Mathematics, or a related field? This opportunity could be for you! 👀

With the Expression of Interest deadline approaching, join us to get firsthand insights, practical application guidance, and answers to your questions from three current Mastercard Foundation Scholars at UBC. 💜

*🎤 MEET OUR SPEAKERS*

🇨🇲 Akwanwi Relindis Fru | Cameroon
🇸🇱 Abubakarr Barrie | Sierra Leone
🇳🇬 Adewale Samuel Jokanola | Nigeria
Mastercard Foundation Scholars at UBC

📅 September 1, 2026
⏰ 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM WAT
💻 Google Meet
🔗 https://meet.google.com/iun-kyro-tqs

🎙️ Host: Reina Visiy, Programs Officer, STEM Girls Connect

📌 Expression of Interest deadline: September 6

Come with your questions and share with someone who could benefit! 💜💚

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH✋🏾

Another woman killed.

Then another.

And another.

In just a few days, Cameroon has been confronted with horrifying reports of women losing their lives to violence, many allegedly at the hands of people they knew, trusted or loved.

Behind every headline was an entire life.

Daughters. Sisters. Friends. Mothers. Women who were loved, who had dreams, plans and ordinary things they still wanted to do.

They were supposed to have tomorrow.

At STEM Girls Connect, we spend our time encouraging girls and women to dream bigger, pursue education, enter STEM, build careers, lead, create, and become everything they want to be.

But we cannot speak about empowering women without speaking about their safety.

Women deserve to live long enough to see the futures they are working so hard to build.

As we mourn, let us not turn these deaths into questions about what the women should have seen or done differently. Sometimes there are visible signs of danger. Sometimes there are not.

A woman is never responsible for another person's decision to hurt or kill her.

If you are experiencing violence, receiving threats or feel unsafe, please reach out to someone you trust if it is safe to do so.

And when a woman tells us she is afraid, listen. Take her seriously. Do not shame her, blame her or pressure her to stay.

But women cannot be expected to solve femicide by becoming better at avoiding violence.

We need communities that refuse to excuse abuse, institutions that protect women who seek help, and authorities that hold perpetrators accountable.

Because after the hashtags disappear, families will still be grieving.

There will still be empty chairs.

We cannot bring these women back. But we can refuse to let their deaths become normal.

Speak up. Listen. Support without judgement. Demand protection, accountability and justice.

And remember the women behind the headlines.

They lived.
They loved.
They dreamed.
They mattered.
They deserved more tomorrows.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.
STOP FEMICIDE. 💜

𝗦𝗶𝘅 𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗩𝗜-𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗠 𝗖𝗼𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝟭 𝗷𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗲𝘀! 💜💚

What started with a conversation about discovering one's STEM identity has grown into a learning journey exploring STEM pathways, career readiness, leadership, professional networking, and using STEM to solve challenges within our communities.

The cohort brings together 45 young women who are learning, reflecting, connecting, and being challenged to see themselves not only as participants in STEM, but as women capable of leading, innovating, and creating meaningful change.

Across our first six sessions, we have had the privilege of learning from remarkable women who generously shared their knowledge, experiences, and practical insights with our cohort.

From asking "What is my why in STEM?" to exploring different STEM career pathways, strengthening CV and interview skills, developing leadership capacity, building meaningful professional relationships, and identifying community problems that can become opportunities for STEM-driven solutions, every session has added another layer to the journey.

And the learning does not end when the virtual sessions close. Participants are encouraged to put what they learn into practice, from intentionally expanding their professional networks to thinking critically about challenges within their communities and how STEM can contribute to solving them.

To the wonderful women who have poured into HVI-STEM Cohort 1, thank you. 🙏

We deeply appreciate Dr. Neba Irine, Dr. Edna Visiy, Beri, Manka'ah Che, Martinez, and Dr. Agbor Evelyn for sharing your time, expertise, experiences, and encouragement with our young women.

Thank you as well to our session hosts, Dr. Visiy, Dr. Irine, Gracious Ringnyu, and Reina Visiy, for guiding the conversations and helping create engaging spaces for our participants.

And to our HVI-STEM participants, keep learning, keep asking questions, keep building relationships, and keep discovering what is possible for you in STEM.

There is still so much ahead, and we look forward to seeing where this journey takes you.

Finally, we extend our sincere appreciation to our partners, STEM Women Powerhouse and Meet The Girl-MTG, for believing in the vision of HVI-STEM and supporting our commitment to creating meaningful opportunities for young women in STEM. Thank you for being part of this journey with us. 🙏💜