Tuesday, 22 October 2019
A PhD student from the University of Nottingham has been recognised for her work to encourage girls in Nigeria to consider careers in science and technology with a Nature research award.
Doreen Anene is founder of the STEM Belle project and has been awarded a Nature Research Award for Inspiring Science and Innovating Science, in partnership with The Estée Lauder Companies with a prize fund of $25,200
Doreen is a PhD student in the School of Biosciences at University of Nottingham. She is currently a visiting scholar at the Poultry Research Foundation within the University of Sydney. In 2017, she became a Fellow of the Schlumberger Faculty for the Future Foundation, an organisation that provides funding and support for women from developing countries to pursue doctorate and post-doctorate degrees in developed countries. Doreen is also a UN Women Global Champion for Change, and an alumni of the USAID’s Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) Regional Learning Centre.
Alongside being a doctoral student, Doreen is the founder of The STEM Belle, a non-profit initiative, which is focused on recalibrating the female representation in Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics fields, by attracting, retaining and advancing more girls and young women to STEM subjects and fields.
Breaking down stereotypes
STEM Belle does this through a number of activities with girls aged 8 – 16 years old, who are enrolled in under-resourced schools in low income communities. Activites include: awareness programmes in schools to break down gender stereotypes, donating equipment supplies, a mentorship programme which builds relationships between primary and secondary school girls and women in STEM industries and academia.
The STEM Belle programme also runs an academic awards scheme for the highest achieving girls from the schools they work with. The winners of these awards are invited to attend a funded two week boot camp where the girls spend time with women from a wide range of STEM careers taking part in a range of activities to develop their skills and confidence.
STEM Belle is all about breaking down the sterotypes and girls in particular are under pressure from strong family and cultural views that impact them as they grow up. We want to empower young girls to seriously consider choosing and following a STEM career path for their future. It’s fantastic that the project has been recognised with this award, it will allow us to monitor and closely follow up with our current beneficiaries as they progress to STEM careers. The prize funds will also be used to expand our strategies to other parts of the country, and hopefully to other African countries and introduce new initiatives to help more girls embrace a possible future in a STEM career.
Doreen’s work to empower and inspire girls to follow careers in STEM is the most exciting piece of outreach work that I have encountered. We are incredibly pround of her extraordinary achievement.
Story credits
More information is available from Jane Icke, Media Relations Manager for the Faculty of Science at the University of Nottingham, on +44 (0)115 951 5751, jane.icke@nottingham.ac.uk
Notes to editors:
About the University of Nottingham
Ranked 32 in Europe and 16th in the UK by the QS World University Rankings: Europe 2024, the University of Nottingham is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities. Studying at the University of Nottingham is a life-changing experience, and we pride ourselves on unlocking the potential of our students. We have a pioneering spirit, expressed in the vision of our founder Sir Jesse Boot, which has seen us lead the way in establishing campuses in China and Malaysia - part of a globally connected network of education, research and industrial engagement.
Nottingham was crowned Sports University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024 – the third time it has been given the honour since 2018 – and by the Daily Mail University Guide 2024.
The university is among the best universities in the UK for the strength of our research, positioned seventh for research power in the UK according to REF 2021. The birthplace of discoveries such as MRI and ibuprofen, our innovations transform lives and tackle global problems such as sustainable food supplies, ending modern slavery, developing greener transport, and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
The university is a major employer and industry partner - locally and globally - and our graduates are the second most targeted by the UK's top employers, according to The Graduate Market in 2022 report by High Fliers Research.
We lead the Universities for Nottingham initiative, in partnership with Nottingham Trent University, a pioneering collaboration between the city’s two world-class institutions to improve levels of prosperity, opportunity, sustainability, health and wellbeing for residents in the city and region we are proud to call home.
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