UNeTech Institute announced the graduation of 19 women from Opportunity Corps: Women in STEAM, a 10-month education program focused on entrepreneurship and leadership development that matches women academic and industry professionals in science, technology, arts, engineering and math with women mentors in those subject areas.
The program, a partnership with Bio Nebraska, is funded through a grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.
“UNeTech is always looking for community members with an interest in leading the companies that are formed out of medical research at UNMC, and it can be a challenge to find women entrepreneurs to serve as founders,” said Stephanie Kidd, PhD, communications strategist for UNeTech and principal investigator for the Opportunity Corps grant. “Opportunity Corps provides us with a chance to train brilliant women in STEAM on entrepreneurship and also recruit them to partner with our inventions in our incubator. It’s a double win.”
Opportunity Corps focuses on a different subject each month, with a one-day educational workshop session featuring STEAM industry experts and leaders from the community, as well as one-on-one mentoring sessions with the mentors each month.
In an effort to overcome the barriers that women face in STEAM industries, especially as entrepreneurs, Opportunity Corps sets its main goals:
- To provide women in STEAM access to mentors and program presenters who are experts in their fields;
- To create awareness of existing women leaders;
- To help forge a path to leadership and entrepreneurship for women in STEAM, whether to become leaders within an existing organization or to start their own venture; and
- To benefit the community and STEAM industries in Nebraska by helping women address and overcome barriers to leadership and entrepreneurship, allowing for a more confident sharing of ideas and leadership abilities.
“Bio Nebraska is proud to have had the opportunity to partner with the UNeTech Institute on such an important program that is working to develop future STEAM leaders and entrepreneurs in Nebraska,” said Sasha Forsen, Bio Nebraska assistant director. “Women play a crucial role in the growth of Nebraska’s STEAM industries, and we look forward to continuing the Opportunity Corps in the new year.”
Graduates of the program said they found the structure of the program, the mentorship element and the diversity of the speakers and the panels all to be crucial elements of the overall success of Opportunity Corps.
“The presenters were extremely knowledgeable, but also flexible and allowed discussion to reflect the needs of the group,” said Anupa Kamat, PhD, an associate director for Merck Animal Health. “Mentors are a fantastic way to gain insight into where your career may lead. Our world is filled with networking opportunities. This program was definitely one that promoted this. Mentors are guides to what has, what is and what will happen in your organization as they have generally ‘been there, done that.’”
Itzel Lopez, VP of advancement & development at the AIM Institute, said she had similar thoughts. For Itzel, the most valuable part of Opportunity Corps was “getting to know other women in STEAM who are facing similar challenges.” She also said she enjoyed the keynote speakers and panelists who came for afternoon sessions but learned the most from in-house instructors.
“I really loved the variety,” she said. “But I especially enjoyed learning about the business canvas concept. I would recommend this to anybody in a leadership role who wants to have a greater impact on their career and the careers of those they lead.”
Applications for the second year of Opportunity Corps will be open soon. The program will kick off in February 2023 and last through November 2023. Women in STEAM industries who are interested in developing their entrepreneurship and leadership skills are strongly encouraged to apply.