SCWIST Mentorship Project – April 2014 Update

The SCWIST Mentorship Project is part of the Government of Canada’s Status of Women Initiative to develop methods to attract and retain women in technology, and advance the Canadian digital economy. The SCWIST Mentorship Project will provide mentoring support, networking connections, professional development and leadership opportunities to help women reach their full potential in the technology sector and all STEM fields. This project is well aligned with SCWIST goals to promote, encourage and empower women and girls in science, engineering and technology.  The project team will leverage successful SCWIST programs, benchmark other mentoring systems, work closely with our target users to fully understand their needs and collaborate with key industry partners to deliver an innovative and effective mentoring model.

We would like to thank the SCWIST volunteers who have already been actively collaborating with the project team during the February needs assessment and branding workshops, and also thank those of you who completed the baseline survey sent out in early March.  We are currently collecting important feedback on the functional needs for the mentorship website and hope that you will provide your valuable input through the survey that was recently sent out.  Plans for the Spring include prototype development and testing, with a targeted launch of an Alpha product this summer.  Also coming this fall, there will be various opportunities to participate in workshops to develop leadership and mentorship skills.  There will be many exciting ways for SCWIST members to contribute to this project, so please stay tuned!

Cheryl Kristiansen & Flo Devellennes
SCWIST Mentorship Project