We pride ourselves on forming deep connections, collaborating not just with one another, but with local industry, schools, and everyone who calls our island home.
Rose Aawulenna is a first-year PhD student at the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture, University of Tasmania. Growing up in a deprived community in Ghana, Rose had to overcome many barriers to reach her potential.
With this grant, she will provide sanitary pads and writing materials to 200 girls in four underprivileged schools in Nandom, Ghana to help them menstruate with dignity, boost their confidence, and stay in school.
Rose will also mentor the students on menstrual health and hygiene and STEMM education pathways to inspire the next generation of Ghanaian girls in STEMM.
Isabelly de Lima is a geneticist pursuing a PhD at the Menzies Institute for Medical Research. With a deep passion for science, she understands the challenges of pursuing higher education when coming from an underprivileged background.
With this funding, she plans to organize STEM competitions for girls at two high schools in her hometown in Brazil.
The girls will be encouraged to create low-cost projects in any STEM field, and the winners will receive a laptop to support their continued education.
Barbara Labbe is a PhD student from Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS). Her research seeks to clarify the carbon uptake strategies of Tasmanian seaweeds and their physiological responses to ocean acidification.
Barbara has recently become a mother and has fought against numerous gender barriers throughout her career as a scientist.
She will use this grant to host seaweed cyanotype photography workshops for students in Chile and promote the participation and inclusion of girls and woman in STEMM.
Dilini Manage, a PhD student in Supply Chain Management at AMC, has recognized how a strong foundation in mathematical and analytical skills can open opportunities in STEMM fields.
Through this grant, she will equip an underprivileged school in Sri Lanka with interactive mathematics models and tools.
She will work with the student there to make maths more engaging and accessible, aiming to inspire young girls to pursue STEMM study and contribute to a more inclusive STEMM community.
The fellowship program provides funds for the selected applicants to set up a program to mentor and inspire youth in their community, and to remove barriers to the STEMM success of the next generation. Over the coming months, the 2025 fellows will be implementing STEMM engagement programs with these funds in Ghana, Brazil, Chile and Sri Lanka, as well as engaging with schools and community in Tasmania. The program provides funds for these programs, as well as training in and opportunities for engagement to lift the fellows’ profiles and capacity for impact.
This year’s fellowship program is possible through Inspiring Tasmania and the University of Tasmania.
The 2025 fellows have diverse educational and geographic backgrounds. Their distinct plans to inspire and support STEMM engagement come from their own life experiences in the communities they are supporting. You can read about the fellows and their projects below. All three fellows will present about their research, and their outreach programs at a Science in the Pub event for International Women’s Day (Saturday, March 8th).
What is the Inspiring Women in STEMM fellowship program?
A higher degree in STEMM can be a springboard towards a rewarding career and an opportunity to give back to one’s community. Unfortunately, women are often under-represented in STEMM careers and women from remote, low-income areas, indigenous or minority communities often face additional barriers to achieving employment in STEMM fields.
Fortunately, many women overcome these substantial barriers and complete tertiary degrees in STEMM fields. These women are potential role models for the next generation of scientists in their community. However, they often do not have the training and opportunity to effectively tell their STEMM Story.
This fellowship program seeks to lift the profile of some of the incredible young female scientists in Tasmania and amplify their voice so they can inspire the current and next generation of women in STEMM in thier community and beyond. We also help connect them with other incredible women in Tasmania, as coaches and peers to strengthen their network and opportunities.
The inaugural 2019 fellowship program was supported by funds from Emily and Andy Flies’s Vice Chancellor’s Award for Outstanding Community Engagement; from 2020 this program relies on support from the community. So many incredible women are willing to work hard in their studies and for their communities. If you can support this program and can help us help them connect with and inspire the next generation of scientists, please reach out to Emily Flies.
During the fellowship, Ella Smalley was a final year PhD student at the Menzies Institute for Medical Research. Throughout her PhD, alongside COVID-19 lockdown, she was diagnosed with cancer and realised what a huge impact a chronic health condition can have on educational outcomes.
Ella used this grant to conduct outreach for 15-21-year-olds interested in STEMM careers and connected them with a mentor in their field of interest. They worked alongside their mentor to develop their passion for STEMM and came together with all the participants to present what they had learned at a public event.
Saranya Viswanathan is a neuroscience PhD student supervised by Dr. John Lin in the School of Medicine.
Her research focuses on understanding the brain mechanisms influencing behaviour. She has seen how education can empower women and recognizes the need for female representation in STEMM fields.
With this grant, she distributed STEMM kits to two rural, government-run girl’s schools (primary and secondary) in Tiruvallur India and engaged with the young women there to foster interest and awareness in neuroscience.
Esmat Sarafraz is a plant genetics PhD student in the School of Natural Sciences. Growing up in a small village in southern Iran, she witnessed how tradition and poverty can deprive girls from achieving an education. But she also learned about the power of books to unleash potential and connect you to the outside world.
Esmat used this grant to support the education of Afghan girls refugees living in Iran and to equip rural school libraries with new books in Science and Literature.
The Grant provides funds for the Fellows to mentor and inspire youth in their community, and remove barriers to the STEMM success of the next generation. Over the coming months, the 2023 fellows will be implementing STEMM engagement programs with these funds in Tasmania, Sri Lanka, and Iran.
This year’s grant is possible through the generous contributions from different divisions at UTAS including People and Wellbeing, College of Science and Engineering, College of Health and Medicine, Australian Meritime College and Geography, Planning and Spatial Sciences.
The 2023 Inspiring Fellows are:
Marlee Wells (Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre)
Vimarsha Kodithuwakku (Menzies Institute for Medical Research)
Mona Jalali (School of Natural Sciences – Chemistry)
Marlee Wells is a neuroscience PhD student at the Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre. Growing up in rural Tasmania and attending a small district school she had to overcome many barriers to keep her spark for science alive.
Marlee will use this grant to travel to district schools around Tasmania and fund workshops on how to successfully transition from rural schools to university.
At these workshops she will also present neuroscience-based activities to encourage interest and passion for science.
Mona Jalali is a PhD student in Chemistry at the University of Tasmania.
She is seeking to understand the ‘how and why’ of the world through chemistry, curiosity and persistence. With this funding, Mona will partner with two girl’s high schools in Tehran, Iran, to equip chemistry laboratories with books and equipment for the students to learn through experimentation.
Mona also will present her PhD journey and research, including the “significance of chemistry in our daily life” at two girls’ high schools to spark interest and boost the self-confidence and aspirations of the next generation of Iranian girls in STEMM fields.
Sowdamini Sesha Prasad is a marine science PhD student at the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Science.
As the daughter of a teacher in India, she has seen how COVID has exacerbated existing education challenges and inequities.
With this grant, she will partner with a rural school in her hometown of Bengaluru, India to provide uniforms and textbooks for students from low socio-economic areas who are disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. She will also organize mentoring workshops and collaborate with local women in STEMM to provide an ongoing mentoring network for the students.
The 2022 grant was supported by generous donations from the University of Tasmania College of Science and Engineering, College of Health and Medicine, the office of the Deputy Vice Chancellor for Research, the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, the School of Natural Sciences, and BeakerStreet.
The 2022 Fellows are:
Kumudu Amarawardhana (Engineering)
Sowdamini Sesha Prasad (IMAS)
Shasta Henry (GPSS)
Dilani Ratnajeewa (AMC)
In 2022, the fellows engaged with youth in in Sri Lanka, India, and Tasmania. You can read more about the Fellows and hear their stories below.
Kumudu Amarwardhana is the first female engineer in the Sri Lanka Air Force. As an active member in a national program to promote STEMM, she has witnessed how scarce resources can be a barrier to the STEMM hopes and dreams for youth in underprivileged areas.
This grant will allow Kumudu to purchase laboratory equipment to develop a centralised “Hope for the future WIS (Women in STEMM)” Field Study Centre to support STEMM engagement for young people in Sri Lanka.
Sowdamini Sesha Prasad is a marine science PhD student at the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Science. As the daughter of a teacher in India, she has seen how COVID has exacerbated existing education challenges and inequities.
With this grant, she will partner with a rural school in her hometown of Bengaluru, India to provide uniforms and textbooks for students from low socio-economic areas who are disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.
She will also organize mentoring workshops and collaborate with local women in STEMM to provide an ongoing mentoring network for the students.
Dilani Ratnajeewa is a PhD student in Transport and Logistics Management. She has observed how a lack of educational resources can be a barrier for girls’ taking up higher education and careers in STEMM in Sri Lanka.
With this grant, she will provide STEMM text books (including Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Maths, and Information and Communication Technology) to several schools in Sri Lanka to assist the girls achievements in these subjects, boost their self-confidence and inspire them in pursuing a STEMM education and career.
Shasta Henry is a Tasmanian entomologist and science communicator. Thanks to this grant, Shasta will take her ‘Build a Bug’ workshops on the road around regional Tasmania.
Her presentations and activities about backyard insects will focus on the observational and practical aspects of science to bypass the literacy barriers in many Tasmanian communities and stimulate STEMM interest.
“I’m aiming to break down elite assumptions about scientists and build up science literacy, familiarity, confidence and entitlement – because everyone is entitled to this knowledge.”-Shasta.
Hear their stories below from our special International Women’s Day Science in the Pub event.
Annie Nguyen is a PhD student in the School of Natural Science at UTAS. Annie witnessed first-hand how a lack of English-speaking ability can be a barrier to higher-paying jobs.
She has since taught English as well as the Python computer language to youth in different parts of the world.
Annie had plans to teach at the Natumuse Junior Academy in the Loitokitok district in Kenya before accepting her PhD scholarship studying the drivers of biodiversity in Australia.
Nneka Orji is a medical doctor, a health economist at the Federal Ministry of Health and Ministry of Women Affairs in Nigeria, a PhD student at the Menzies Institute of Medical Research in Tasmania (long-distance due to current travel restrictions) and a mother of 4.
Olly Dove is a PhD student at the Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies. Olly is also a co-host and editor for the Hobart-based radio and podcast show ‘That’s What I Call Science!’.
The equipment purchased through this grant will also further extend the media outreach and impact of the show.
The inaugural ‘Inspiring Women in STEMM’ Grant supported four 2020 Fellows to reach hundreds of girls in their communities.
2020 fellow, Mercy Ndalila, brought smoke detectors to a girl’s boarding school in Kenya, and fire safety materials to a primary school, to both safeguard students from fire and educate them about fire risks.
She also presented about her pyrogeography research at these schools and local universities.
Another 2020 fellow, Gabriella Maria Paniagua Cabarrus, used the funds to buy supplies and new lab coats for a girl’s chemistry club in remote Guatemala.
Then, through a virtual presentation, she guided them through a chemistry lab experiment, building their skills and curiosity about a career in science.
Other 2020 fellows included Abigail Smith from Fiji who studied the distribution and availability of iron in the Antarctic coastal ocean via IMAS and Stephy Libera from India who studied how the Southern Ocean affects Antarctic sea ice predictability, also through IMAS.
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