bold idea
Accelerate innovation, productivity, and pathways to STEM careers for women in marginalized communities by building an active ecosystem to mentor and coach aspiring girls globally.
organization overview
VigyanShaala is ensuring that women can become the innovators the world needs most. VigyanShaala is driven by a belief that everyone deserves the opportunity to create a better world through science. VigyanShaala’s ‘She for STEM’ prepares female STEM undergraduates from the most marginalized communities for the technology-focused workforce. VigyanShaala provides support to develop long-term career and vision clarity, individual development plans, and advanced STEM skills through a digital mentoring model delivered by global experts and relatable role models. These resources, coupled with physical community labs and chapters, build a sense of sisterhood that results in increased self-efficacy and belief of success.
Personal Bio
Dr. Darshana Joshi is the co-founder and chief executive officer of VigyanShaala International. A passionate physicist, mentor, and social entrepreneur, Dr. Joshi is committed to recalibrating the gender balance in STEM disciplines. She is building India’s largest digital ecosystem for affordable mentoring and coaching at scale for aspiring, committed, and talented girls in STEM.
Dr. Joshi is keenly interested in designing low-cost pedagogical tools to promote interdisciplinary thinking and problem solving among youth from the most marginalized communities. Her work has been recognized by the Government of India, and she has received the Women Transforming India Award and the Falling Walls Engage award in Berlin. Dr. Joshi holds a Ph.D. in physics from Cavendish Laboratory at the University of Cambridge. For her doctoral work, she was awarded the prestigious Schlumberger Foundation’s Faculty for the Future Fellowship for women from developing countries. Towards the end of her Ph.D., she became the first Indian woman to be elected the President of Graduate Union, the primary representative body of postgraduate students at the University of Cambridge. She currently serves on the advisory board of Falling Walls Engage and Udayan Care, a Delhi-based NGO that supported her studies from high school through her Ph.D.
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