events and workshops
Throughout the year we run a range of events and workshops to empower our STEM women of colour community. View our upcoming and past events and make sure you book into your preferred session as the places are limited
All workshop and events are managed by our volunteers.
2021 - 2022 Events and Workshops
Santa’s Lab – Christmas Science Experiments for kids
Santa’s Lab – Christmas Science Experiments for kids is a great opportunity to use the positive energy of the season’s festivities to get your young children excited about science. It also values the role of wonder and error to make sense of and discover things about the world through the theme of Christmas.
Giving children the opportunity to embark on new experiences is crucial in supporting their natural curiosity and exploratory nature. What better time to introduce new concepts and sensory experiences than Christmas? After all, it is the most wonderful and exciting time of the year!
Santa’s Lab will have fun and easy science experiments for kids during Christmas!
STEM SISTERS Social Night 2022
STEM SISTERS Social Night is our end-of-year networking event, where you will meet our STEM Sisters community of students, graduates, early careers and professionals in STEM. This is an opportunity to learn from sisters who have been in your shoes and get guidance and tips for your STEM career!
dress to express 2022
STEM Sisters Dress To Express is back in 2022 in collaboration with Melbourne Fashion Week 2022 . After a great success last year attracting local and international attention we are back to empowering the women of colour community to find their personal style and develop professional confidence while protecting the planet.
The Dress To Express event includes Talks and Discussions on BEING YOU , The SWOP SIS web portal launch, the STEM in STYLE fashion runway and a social gathering on the 13th of October 2022 at the Dock.
Soapbox science melbourne 2022
STEM Sisters BRINGS SOAPBOX SCIENCE TO MELBOURNE IN 2022!
We are excited to announce the panel discussion for Soapbox Science Melbourne 2022.
Soapbox Science is a novel public outreach platform for promoting women and non-binary scientists and the science they do. It transforms public areas into an arena for public learning and scientific debate. See you there!
Date: Friday, 19th of August 2022
Time: 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM AEDT
Meet our panellist:
Dr Farah Arkam – University of New South Wales
Dr Caitlin N Pfeiffer – The University of Melbourne
Dr Shwaty Ramesan – The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health
Jerusha Mather – Victoria University
Dr Sarah Bonell – Orygen and The University of Melbourne
Dr Menik Tissera – ERDA, Monash University
Dr Susi Seibt – ANSTO – Australian Synchrotron
Dr Nadeeka Kumari Wawegama – The University of Melbourne
Dr Pauline ML Coulon – The University of Melbourne
Billie Murphy – SolarBuddy
Brenda Denbesten – Brenda Denbesten Coaching
Dr Ruwangi Fernando – STEM Sisters
Soapbox Science is a FREE and open event to all of our community, to keep updated and informed about the event, you can sign up below for further information that will be provided later.
STEM sisters 2022 |Women in RE/IT - stem sisters x Deakin university
About the event:
The main topics of Women in RE/IT would be as followed but not limited to:
– Professional journeys of the panelists with the focus on how they address the challenges in Australian working environment as Women in STEM
– Lessons and experiences on how to secure professional STEM positions in the corresponding fields of career in Australian job market
– Prospective projects and goals to further give contributions to the development of STEM
About the organisers:
The STEM Sister Ambassadors from Deakin University and University of Melbourne in Australia has organised the event Women in IT. A broad mix of linguistically and culturally diverse women devoted to an intersectional approach to supporting women of colour in the professions of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics make up STEM Sisters, an organisation formed by Dr. Ruwangi Fernando.
Event details:
The event will be held via zoom.
Date and Time: Aug 16, 2022 09:40 PM Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney
Networking event - film festival, stem sisters x monash university
In collaboration with Monash University, STEM Sisters will come to the university as a part of the Ambassador program outreach events.
The event aims to help participants, especially students whose interests and/or career visions are associated with STEM, gain insights into the latest research projects from STEM fields and expand networking within the STEM industry. In addition, the event will also be an opportunity for STEM Sisters’ Ambassadors to amplify the STEM Sisters’ reputation and initiatives.
✨ STEM Sisters Movie Night ✨
– Join us in a fun and interesting Friday Night Movie Night 📽️👀
– Enjoy an untold story of the African-American Women who helped win the space race 👩🚀👩🚀
– The event is completely free – come along and grab your own popcorn tub 🍿🍿
The date & Time are TBA.
Location: Monash University Clayton Campus
Building your Network on LinkedIn for those in STEM
STEM Sisters is proud to be partnering with RMIT’s Skills and Jobs Centre (SAJC) to bring an online workshop filled with tips and tricks on how to utilise LinkedIn to the maximum.
Are you actually utilising LinkedIn to the fullest?
LinkedIn is a powerful professional networking platform that allows you to stay in touch with your contacts, connects you with recruiters and employers, enables you to conduct job searches, and assists you to give and receive professional references.
An experienced instructor from RMIT’s Skills and Jobs Centre will help to demystify LinkedIn and show you how to use it to further your professional network and job search.
This session will focus on the following:
- How to network on LinkedIn in the Australian labour market,
- How to research the Australian labour market,
- How to formulate a unique proposition for employers,
- Tips for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) community on networking locally in Australia.
All are welcome to this FREE online workshop. We highly encourage Women of Colour from Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields to attend.
A special mention to RMIT’s Skills and Jobs Centre for offering this workshop to our STEM Sisters community.
CALD Women in stem media workshop - Building your online profile
In cooperation with STEM Sisters and the Victorian Lead Scientist’s Office, Australian Science Media Centre is offering a special series of workshops for women in STEM from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
The CALD women in STEM media training session part 3 is scheduled for June 16th – 17th 2022 will be held in Melbourne (venue to be confirmed). The 180-minute lesson will cover a range of topics, including working effectively with the Australian media, developing your online profile, and protecting yourself from cyberbullies.
Numbers are limited so register as soon as possible! The same workshop is offered 3 times so that you can freely choose based on your availability.
Secure your place now and sign up as soon as possible! Please register through the link below. (*Please choose one option to register)
Option 1: Thursday 16 June 2022, 4 – 7 PM
Register here – https://lnkd.in/gEj8Z8jx
Option 2: Friday 17 June 2022, 10 am – 1 PM
Register here – https://lnkd.in/g9iKmeSR
Option 3: Friday 17 June 2022, 2.30 – 5.30 PM
Register here – https://lnkd.in/g_77pv7F
This FREE workshop is open to all within the STEM Sisters community.
LinkedIn for Intermediate Users - STEM
STEM Sisters is proud to be partnering with RMIT’s Skills and Jobs Centre (SAJC) to bring an online workshop filled with tips and tricks on how to utilise LinkedIn to the maximum.
Are you actually utilising LinkedIn to the fullest?
LinkedIn is a powerful professional networking platform that allows you to stay in touch with your contacts, connects you with recruiters and employers, enables you to conduct job searches, and assists you to give and receive professional references.
An experienced instructor from RMIT’s Skills and Jobs Centre will help to demystify LinkedIn and show you how to use it to further your professional network and job search.
This session will focus on the following:
- Personal branding on LinkedIn
- Effective Executive Summary
- Building Credibility
- Basics on how to expand your network
All are welcome to this FREE online workshop. We highly encourage Women of Colour from Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields to attend.
A special mention to RMIT’s Skills and Jobs Centre for offering this workshop to our STEM Sisters community.
Leadership Labs - South Asian Women in STEM
Panel discussion strives to provide more insights on the diversity and inclusiveness of STEM Women in Australia and the efforts of individuals in our STEM Sisters network, particularly those coming from a South Asian background.
Therefore we hope to:
- Celebrate these amazing women’s achievements
- To encourage more individuals to join or support our community
- To recognise the challenges faced by women of colour in STEM, and
- Comprehend why it is critical to confront and overcome certain prejudices that are barriers to success in their STEM journey.
90 minutes virtual Panel Discussion feature
Prof. Svetha Venkatesh – CoDirector, A2I2, Alfred Deakin Professor
Prof. Asha Rao – Associate Dean, Mathematical Sciences, RMIT University
Nitasha Badhwar – Co Founder and Chief Strategy Officer, Sunpower Renewables
Megha Bote – Cyber Security Consultant, Capgemini
Ritika Saxena – PhD Research Student, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI)
Neelam Yadav– Information and Data Officer at IPC Health, STEM Sisters Volunteer
STEM Sisters Workshop - Vision Stand/Celebration/Closing Space
We celebrated #internationalwomensday2022 and recognised the 54 STEM Sisters Ambassador. Supported by Study Melbourne The STEM SISTERS’ AMBASSADOR PROGRAM aims to provide talented and ambitious STEM, women, international students from Victorian universities an opportunity to enhance their professional skills and to feel more connected studying and living in Victoria.
The Ambassador Program is just one among many initiatives of STEM Sisters to empower STEM women of colour. We are very grateful for the support we received from Study Melbourne through the inclusion fund.
STEM Sisters Workshop - Storytelling
In cooperation with STEM Sisters and the Victorian Lead Scientist’s Office, the Australian Science Media Centre is offering a special series of seminars for women in STEM from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds.
The first two 90-minute sessions are designed to address two requirements: ‘Understanding the Media’ and ‘Preparing for Interviews.’ There will be lots of possibilities for conversation as well as a variety of activities to keep everyone engaged.
These training sessions are to all CALD women in STEM interested in media coverage, and we encourage all of our STEM Sisters community to attend because it will undoubtedly offer some valuable insight into media sources and diversity.
STEM Sisters are taking a different approach to our fourth workshop – ‘Storytelling’. This workshop entails the notion of media training for STEM women of Colour, to deconstruct the discipline of storytelling and prepare our ambassadors to communicate their STEM talents and message to the larger community. Most STEM women of colour fail in the Australian STEM business because they do not tell the correct narrative in the right way, and these two courses are intended to empower them. The courses will address a variety of issues, such as how to successfully interact with the Australian media, how to create your online presence, and how to defend yourself from cyberbullies. You will also receive expert advice from journalists and media-savvy STEM researchers from CALD backgrounds.
The CALD women in STEM media training session part 1 is scheduled for February 17th from 4:30 pm to 6:00 pm. Part 2 is scheduled for February 22nd 4:30 pm to 6:00 pm.
STEM Sisters Workshop - Harnessing Our Feminine Power
Ambassadors learn ways to find and honour their true identity and strengths as STEM women of colour, transform their shame into power, and firmly own their unique experiences and narrative unapologetically.
We are excited to announce that our third workshop, Harnessing our Feminine Power, is fast approaching. This session will be a great opportunity for ambassadors to learn how to uncover and honour their actual identity and talents as STEM women of colour, how to convert shame into power, and how to boldly embrace their unique experiences and story. The workshop will commence with ambassadors program updates. speeches from special guests, followed by a panel discussion and a workshop activity, and conclude with networking.
Our panellists include:
Gonul Serbest – CEO of Global Victoria.
Mani Thiru – Space Industry Development Leader at Amazon Web Services (AWS) for the Asia Pacific region.
Dharshi Harindra – technology and data privacy specialist, lawyer, Advisory Board member, start-up mentor, Cultural Diversity in Leadership advocate and legal consultant.
Daizy Maan – Program manager at Deakin University, founder of Australian Digital Job Accelerator.
Date: 20th January 2022
Time: 3 PM – 6 PM AEDT
The event is open to all our STEM Sisters community
STEM Sisters Workshop - Leadership Wisdom
Ambassador Program – Workshop 2 Leadership Wisdom
In the virtual session, ambassadors get practical insights for leadership via equity and a transformational perspective, with peer sharing and case studies to advance their leadership methods. This workshop aims to establish a welcoming environment for our participants in order for them to gain confidence and express their professional aspirations while participating in group discussions.
Our panellists include:
Veena Sahajwalla – Professor and Director of the Sustainable Materials Research & Technology (SMaRT) Centre at UNSW
Brooke Jamieson – Head of Enablement AI/ML and Data at Blackbook.ai
Muneera Bano – Senior Lecturer Deakin University, Superstar of STEM, Winner of Under 40 most influential Asian-Australian 2019
Date: 30th December
Time: 3 PM – 6 PM AEDT
The event is open to all our STEM Sisters community
STEM Sisters Workshop - Women Like ME
Our first-ever Ambassador program is nearing its launch We are ecstatic to meet our new ambassadors.
The Women Like Me is the inaugural workshop that aims to provide motivation and support to the recruited ambassadors, showing them that women with similar personality traits and aptitudes women are successful working in the STEM industry in Australia. The training enables STEM Ambassadors to feel confident in speaking to their colleagues and inspire them in the world of STEM.
As the 1st workshop -Women Like Me!, we have organised a fun and informative session, to introduce STEM Sisters and our cause. We are pleased to have some special guest speakers in STEM fields share their stories on how they faced and overcame challenges through their success journeys and a special workshop activity with a diversity and inclusion expert to get our ambassadors empowered.
Date: 30th November 2021
Time: 3 PM – 6 PM AEDT
Our panellists:
Bhavika Unnadkat – Head of Data Analytics and Governance at EnergyAustralia
Madhu Bhaskaran – Professor and Research Leader at RMIT University
Stephanie Xoueisomphong – Plant Engineer at Australian Synchrotron
Winitha Bonney – OAM, MA, MMktg, BBM (DI), A.Dip Intl – Amina of Zaria
Dress To Impress
STEM Sisters is pleased to collaborate in Melbourne Fashion Week 2021 to support the women of colour community in achieving their career goals at the workplace through a sense of sustainable fashion.
Dress To Impress launch event includes Talks, Discussions, Restyling demos, and a Fashion Demo on the 20th of November 2021 at the Library at the Dock. The event broadcasted live to our guests.
Dress To Impress is a STEM Sisters initiative addressing the fashion norms that STEM women follow and also highlights the struggle related to dressing in a certain way to feel accepted and respected in a male-dominated industry. This initiative will boldly acknowledge the need for a sustainable circular fashion economy and raise awareness for environmentally-friendly alternatives to fast fashion. We are grateful to the City of Melbourne Waste minimisation and innovation fund 2021 for their support and the mentoring and training of Circular Economic Victoria.
Dress to Impress will also bring the initiative to the forefront of the fashion world. Here, we plan to promote circular fashion by organising a clothes swapping and donation event, providing access to high-quality professional outfits that accentuate the unique features of the participants and build a sense of confidence.
All are welcome to this FREE online workshop.
STEM Resume and Cover Letter
STEM Sisters is proud to be partnering with RMIT’s Skills and Jobs Centre (SAJC) to bring an online workshop specifically for STEM students and professionals on the process of updating your resume and cover letter.
There is a misunderstanding that a job’s key selection criteria must be completely met in order to be hired for the job. This is the case for many women who do not apply for positions unless they meet 100% of the job criteria (HBR, 2014).
This online workshop covers:
- What to look for when reading and evaluating job advertisements
- How to put your best foot forward when marketing yourself to a prospective employer
- How to identify your transferable skills, even when you do not match ALL the job description
- How to tailor and check your resumé for relevancy
- How to write a winning cover letter
All are welcome to this FREE online workshop on Thursday, October 14, 2021 at 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM AEDT
. We highly encourage Women of Colour from Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields to attend.
A special mention to RMIT’s Skills and Jobs Centre for offering this workshop to our STEM Sisters community.
Approaching STEM Employers with Confidence
STEM Sisters is proud to be partnering with RMIT’s Skills and Jobs Centre (SAJC) to bring an online workshop on approaching STEM employers with confidence.
A large number of job opportunities are filled through the “hidden job market”, as ANU recently found.
Learning how to approach employers is a key skill if you want to succeed in a competitive job market. In this interactive workshop, an experienced instructor from RMIT’s Skills and Jobs Centre will help you learn tips and tricks to build confidence to approach STEM employers and guide you through a process that will enable you to better your job search.
In this online workshop:
- You will understand what a Unique Value Proposition is and why you need one.
- You will learn how to approach recruiters via LinkedIn for increased job search success.
- Cold calling employer approaches will be discussed and then practised with other workshop attendees in a small group setting.
This is an interactive workshop that encourages questions.
All are welcome to this FREE online workshop Thursday 9th Sep 9, 2021, from 12:00 noon to 1 PM. We highly encourage Women of Colour from Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields to attend.
A special mention to RMIT’s Skills and Jobs Centre for offering this workshop to our STEM Sisters community.
community.
Building your Network on LinkedIn for those in STEM
STEM Sisters is proud to be partnering with RMIT’s Skills and Jobs Centre (SAJC) to bring an online workshop filled with tips and tricks on how to utilise LinkedIn to the maximum.
Are you actually utilising LinkedIn to the fullest?
LinkedIn is a powerful professional networking platform that allows you to stay in touch with your contacts, connects you with recruiters and employers, enables you to conduct job searches, and assists you to give and receive professional references.
An experienced instructor from RMIT’s Skills and Jobs Centre will help to demystify LinkedIn and show you how to use it to further your professional network and job search.
This session will focus on the following:
- How to network on LinkedIn in the Australian labour market,
- How to research the Australian labour market,
- How to formulate a unique proposition for employers,
- Tips for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) community on networking locally in Australia.
All are welcome to this FREE online workshop. We highly encourage Women of Colour from Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields to attend.
A special mention to RMIT’s Skills and Jobs Centre for offering this workshop to our STEM Sisters community.
LinkedIn for Intermediate Users - STEM
STEM Sisters is proud to be partnering with RMIT’s Skills and Jobs Centre (SAJC) to bring an online workshop filled with tips and tricks on how to utilise LinkedIn to the maximum.
Are you actually utilising LinkedIn to the fullest?
LinkedIn is a powerful professional networking platform that allows you to stay in touch with your contacts, connects you with recruiters and employers, enables you to conduct job searches, and assists you to give and receive professional references.
An experienced instructor from RMIT’s Skills and Jobs Centre will help to demystify LinkedIn and show you how to use it to further your professional network and job search.
This session will focus on the following:
- Personal branding on LinkedIn
- Effective Executive Summary
- Building Credibility
- Basics on how to expand your network
This FREE online workshop is open to all within the STEM Sisters community, however priority is for Women of Colour from Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields.
A special mention to RMIT’s Skills and Jobs Centre for offering this workshop to our STEM Sisters community.
International Women's Day - 2021 with STEM Sisters
STEM Sisters is pleased to be celebrating International Women’s Day on 8th March 2021 at Victoria University’s city campus.
International Women’s Day (IWD) marks the celebration of women’s achievements, raise awareness about women’s rights and lobby for gender and racial parity.
We at STEM Sisters hope to bring a sense of belongingness amongst women of colour, who have moved here to pursue their careers. We plan on bringing in inspiring stories from women of diverse cultural backgrounds who have been through similar struggles at some point.
A sense of belonging is argued to underpin individual wellbeing, social cohesion, and the development of social capital. As a multicultural society, it is important that all people in Melbourne feel that they belong, irrespective of their cultural background.
Our theme for this event is that #YouBelong. #Belonging is pivotal to feeling like part of the wider community.
The event is open to all and is free of cost. We would be delighted to have you with us!
celebrate International Day of Women and Girls in STEM with STEM Sisters!
STEM Sisters is proud to present a virtual panel event as its first event of 2021!
In this FREE virtual event we plan to bring Women of Colour (WOC) in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) together to discuss the following themes:
- Navigating your career in STEM,
- Discussing experiences – good, bad and hopes for the future,
- STEM job market in Australia – tips and tricks / advice
Hear from some of the leading women in STEM and how they do it!
Our amazing panel members:
Angela Bee Chan Co-Founder of Hackathons International
Suet Koon Lai, Director at PwC
Twishi Gulati, Research Officer at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre
Nitha Prakash, COO and Senior Psychologist at Psych Press
