Our Community
Learn more about WISEST's community outreach initiatives!
At WISEST, we’re always seeking new ways to get involved in the community. We’re devoted to assessing the needs of our community and coming up with practical ways in which we can address those needs. We want to showcase some examples of how we’re doing just that.
WISEST Youth Council
As an organization, WISEST exists to serve students at critical points in their journey, and so we believe it is imperative to have real student voices represented in our programming. These youth council members (aged 15-21) are dedicated to giving their input, advocacy and enthusiasm for diversity and inclusion in STEM and are excitedly working on projects that serve the communities they represent.
Are you interested in learning more about the youth council or want to know how you could become part of next year’s council? Find more details here.
Faces of WISEST
A foundational value of WISEST is the power of community to impact individuals and society. Bringing people of diverse perspectives, backgrounds and experiences together to create a community that supports, celebrates and equips individuals to succeed is why we exist. As much as we can, we try to stay engaged with our program participants and celebrate their journeys and learn from them how their WISEST experience impacted and influenced their lives. Many alumni become committed volunteers and amazing role models for younger students. We invite you to explore this page and meet some of our “Faces of WISEST”. We hope you are inspired and if you have a story to share about the impact WISEST has had on you, email wisest.outreach@ualberta.ca, we’d love to hear from you.
UA-WiSE and WiSER Mentorship Program
In 2016, UA-WiSE and WiSER, with the support of WISEST, established the Mentorship Program with the financial support of Shell. This program runs from October to March annually and aims to connect women and underrepresented individuals in STEM fields with mentors who can help foster professional development and personal discovery. Learn more about the program and the WISEST-supported networks.
Outreach Partners & Collaborators
WISEST works collaboratively with other STEM outreach organizations. As a founding member of both AWSN (formerly the Alberta Women’s Science Network) and CCWESTT (Canadian Coalition of Women in Engineering, Science, Trades and Technology), WISEST continues active participation with these organizations which includes serving on these organization’s boards. Promoting and sponsoring the WinSETT leadership development program for early-career STEM professionals as well as membership in STAN (Science & Technology Awareness Network).
Awards & Recognition
WISEST’s contribution to gender equity and STEM outreach has been recognized with the Michael Smith Award for Science Promotion from NSERC (1994); the Excellence In Science And Technology Public Awareness Prize from the Alberta Science and Technology Leadership Foundation (1995); the group Synapse award for mentoring from the Canadian Institute of Health Research and the Community Connections Award (2011) by the UofA’s University Relations unit as a Community Leader (2020). WISEST has been an uninterrupted recipient of the NSERC Promoscience Award since 2001.
In Fall 2020, the first WISEST Youth Council was formed. As an organization, WISEST exists to serve students at critical points in their journey, and so we believe it is imperative to have real student voices represented in our programming. These youth council members are dedicated to giving their input, advocacy and enthusiasm for diversity and inclusion in STEM and are excitedly working on projects that serve the communities they represent.
Are you interested in learning more about the youth council or want to know how you could become part of next year’s council? Find more details here. Applicants are aged 15-21 and come from the Edmonton region as well as rural communities across Alberta. All meetings are held virtually. Applications open each year in the summer and are announced through the WISEST newsletter and on our social media channels.In Fall 2020, we began a formal collaboration with the Girl Guides of Canada - Alberta Council. With a whole suite of STEM-related badges that the girls can earn, there was a clear alignment between WISEST’s ability to provide meaningful and impactful STEM programming to students and Girl Guide’s desire to offer these kinds of opportunities. With the support of an NSERC Promoscience Grant, we were able to connect with Cybermentor and Future Energy Systems to form a partnership to put together STEM-related activities.
The culmination of this collaboration resulted in the “I’m a STEMinist” Challenge, whereby Girl Guide participants all across Alberta can take part in an immersive STEM experience by completing different activities we’ve compiled. Some examples of activities they’ll complete include: learning about women in STEM, meeting a STEM mentor as well as engineering, biology and physical science-related activities. Once they complete the “I’m a STEMinist” Challenge, they earn an embroidered crest to sew on their blankets! We can’t wait to see them sewed on with pride across Alberta!
A foundational value of WISEST is the power of community to impact individuals and society. Bringing people of diverse perspectives, backgrounds and experiences together to create a community that supports, celebrates and equips individuals to succeed is why we exist. As much as we can, we try to stay engaged with our program participants and celebrate their journeys and learn from them how their WISEST experience impacted and influenced their lives. Many alumni become committed volunteers and amazing role models for younger students. We invite you to explore this page and meet some of our “Faces of WISEST”. We hope you are inspired and if you have a story to share about the impact WISEST has had on you, email wisest.outreach@ualberta.ca, we’d love to hear from you.
WISEST works collaboratively with other STEM outreach organizations. As a founding member of both AWSN (formerly the Alberta Women’s Science Network) and CCWESTT (Canadian Coalition of Women in Engineering, Science, Trades and Technology), WISEST continues active participation with these organizations which includes serving on these organization’s boards. Promoting and sponsoring the WinSETT leadership development program for early-career STEM professionals as well as membership in STAN (Science & Technology Awareness Network).
In 2020, WISEST was awarded by the U of A the Community Connection - Community Leader Award. This recognition reminds us that the work we do does not go unnoticed and provides another layer of motivation to continue to pioneer in the area of EDI in STEM, building on our almost 40-year legacy.
For more information about this recognition, please check out the Community Connections Awards page.