It has been a really hectic week , having non-stop full day meeting from Monday all the way till today, Friday. But it was all very eventful , fruitful and extremely fulfilling with knowledge and experience acquired via hands-on work and/or from slides / speakers.
Was a co-facilitator for a youth workshop from Monday-Wednesday and took leave off my internship to attend Asian Scientist-Elsevier Foundation Leadership Salon for Women in STEM which is a two-day intensive in-person leadership program which aim to address the gender gap in science and equip women with the skills required for professional development and success.
It is a fully-sponsored workshop organized in partnership with the Elsevier Foundation, the James Dyson Foundation, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the EcosySTEM—a community for STEM professionals.
Throughout this two day workshop , many prominient female (& male) leaders came front and was the speaker and panelist for many raw conversation on the many roadblock and problems females faced in the world of STEM & ICT.
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The program covered the following :
-How to define your professional brand
-Key strategies for applying and interviewing for senior and management positions
-Networking skills to cultivate strong professional relationships
-The makings of a leader: mentor, sponsor and advocate
-Getting on the tenure track and beyond
-The art of authorship negotiation
-Writing successful grant proposals and securing funding
-Commercialization of research and intellectual property
-Research ethics in the real world
-Communicating your research
-The science behind effective communication
-Scoring media coverage for research
Not only did I learnt many valuable knowledge and words of wisdom, I had also acquire friendship and absorb ( & hopefully emit ) positive vibe from many of the women ( & men ) that attended the seminar.
Day 1 of the Salon started with a
Keynote speech by the esteemed VIP guest speaker, Her Excellency Margriet Vonno followed by a
Fireside panel between Her Excellency Margriet Vonno and Dr. Juliana Chan & Success mindset — Shattering the internal glass ceiling before breaking off for lunch. Bonded a lil with my table mates over lunch at Penang Place (
Penang Place Restaurant & Catering – Authentic. Quality. Value. ) with tasty food & a freezing body ( It was so cold throughout the whole day , it was like as tho suntec city is running on Antarctica aircon. )
Came back with a full tummy and almost fell into the typical after-lunch food coma mood if not for the interesting session of Developing self-leadership for professional development & Navigating the shark tank — Crafting a concise, coherent and compelling
grant proposal. Day One ended with a Panel session of Academia perspectives — Stories of inspiration and leadership.
Day Two started with my love for Mr Bean Icy Viet Soya milk coffeeeee & of course a black coffee followed right after and accompany me into suntec convention centre where Day 2 of the salon begin with a speaker that articulates so well that I had this urge to ask which university did she go or what course did she attended because I aspire to speak as well as her - The Future of Women in STEM - was the session title and I have no doubt of the ability of the esteemed speaker, for she had inspired me with her great speech & am sure it will inspire many more out there.
Might had been too inspired to articulate well that for lunch break, my table mates & I went to "Mad for Garlic" Mad for Garlic | Italian Restaurant Singapore with the thoughts of maybe garlic can help increase adrenaline & build up my confidence : Low temperature-aged garlic extract suppresses psychological... : Journal of the Chinese Medical Association (lww.com)
JUST KIDDING
It's just we find that the place sounds like a good place for lunch we then came back from lunch to absorb knowledge with some session involving Intellectual property , patents followed by session of Bench to Bedside — Translating science from the lab to the market, Reaching the general public — Scoring media coverage for research and ended off the two day salon with a session titled Industry perspectives — Stories of inspiration and resilience.
Final conclusion :
I really love the whole two day workshop even tho its 930-5pm , none of the moment feels boring, dready or just no interesting. Every single second of the salon is filled with information, insides and words of wisdom for each and everyone of the invited esteemed speakers, panelist and guest.
Lastly am really grateful to have this opportunity to attend this salon and will definitely recommend every Women in STEM to join this salon next year should there be one.
It is good to know that you are not alone in this journey in an industry dominated by man or should I say a world dominated by man ? Regardless of all, It is good to be surrounded by Women who wants to support Woman up instead of bringing each other down.
Always believe that it is of no good should jealousy exist to slow down mankind (Womankind)
& it is of utmost love for women who support others.
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