What is the name of your organization?
VigyanShaala Interational
What is the name of your solution?
Kalpana- She For STEM
Provide a one-line summary or tagline for your solution.
Fixing the leaky pipeline for women scientists, technologists, engineers and innovators of the future
In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?
Pune, Maharashtra, India
In what country is your solution team headquartered?
India
What type of organization is your solution team?
Nonprofit
Film your elevator pitch.
What specific problem are you solving?
India's economic success and transformation into a $30 trillion economy by 2047 depend on a strong STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) workforce. Yet, women constitute fewer than 15% of the STEM workforce, despite high enrolment (~43%) in undergraduate STEM programs. Rural colleges, where 60% of India’s higher educational institutions are located, often lack resources and exposure to cutting-edge fields, exacerbating systemic barriers for women. This results in an alarming dropout of nearly 2/3rdof women from STEM careers. It is a huge lost economic opportunity to lift these women and their families out of poverty.
What is your solution?
VigyanShaala is committed to creating equitable pathways for women to excel in STEM, not only enhancing India's workforce and innovation capacity, also contributing to inclusive and sustainable growth. Our flagship initiative, She for STEM, is a two-stage program comprising of an Incubator and Internship Accelerator provides over 130+ hours of group and personalized mentoring and project-based learning delivered by global STEM professionals. It implements a frugal, decentralized, and tech-driven approach to STEM education. Our structured learning pathways guide students from foundational skills to real-world research and industry exposure.
Technology is central to our interventions, as we leverage virtual mentoring platforms, AI-driven engagement tools, and online masterclasses to deliver high-quality education at scale.
With an aim to build a scalable model for various socio-cultural sensitivities, we have forged partnerships with two very different state governments – Uttarakhand in the North and Telangana in the south of India by building whole-state transformational models to drive systemic change.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IyLelw1bDQ&t=37s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a41Nst8E-PI&t=2414s
Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?
VigyanShaala is committed to creating equitable pathways for women to excel in STEM, not only enhancing India's workforce and innovation capacity, also contributing to inclusive and sustainable growth. Kalpana- She for STEM, is building a multistakeholder collaborative approach to catalyse action for successfully placing every female undergraduate and post-graduate student on a high confidence STEM path. Our online mentoring and career readiness program component is designed and delivered by global scientists and STEM professionals with a strong emphasis on the elements of Individual development plan, self-efficacy strengthening, and research grade experimental projects. We are adapting program delivery for it to be more inclusive for girls even with limited digital literacy and access to infrastructure.
This two-stage program comprising of an Incubator and Internship Accelerator provides over 130+ hours of group and personalized mentoring and project-based learning delivered by global STEM professionals. These girls further engage with industries to bring opportunities for early exposure for selected top participants and connect them to internships and scholarships for higher education.
