The History of WEmpower Pakistan
Idea Behind Its Creation
WEmpower Pakistan was established with a vision for encouraging young Pakistani women in STEM careers. The company was built with an aim to provide a platform for professional development and networking. Since its foundation, WEmpower has hosted numerous events focusing on professional development of researchers, organizing talks from field experts, and developing a mentorship program for young Pakistani women in STEM. WEmpower Pakistan core team values and supports this company that believes in empowering others to promote optimism and a “can do” attitude.
Our Story
The WEmpower Pakistan core team conducted their first seminar in Pakistan at Atta-ur-Rahman School of Applied Biosciences (ASAB), National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Islamabad on 10th March 2020. This seminar provided an opportunity for researchers to learn more about WEmpower Pakistan and its role in providing a unique platform for our Pakistani women to excel in the arena of Science, Engineering and Technology.
Quite recently, WEmpower Pakistan has shown interest in philanthropic activities. In collaboration with the SilverLiners Club (SLC), a Ramadan campaign called ‘SHUKAR’ was launched on 3rd April 2020. As social responsibility the aim of the campaign was to gather funds during the month of Ramadan and distribute them as ration packets to the less fortunate. The campaign was quite successful and the joint efforts of WEmpower Pakistan and SilverLiners Club were commended by the Deputy Commissioner of Rawalpindi, Mr. Anwar-ul-Haq.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, social distancing prohibited in-person meetings, so the activities of WEmpower Pakistan were moved to online meetings. Planning for future campaigns and mentorship was all conducted through online meetings. It was during these meetings; that the core team members proposed the idea of an online lecture series. Instead of individually addressing frequently asked questions, the WEmpower team decided to collaborate with field experts to design a practical lecture series as a research guide meant to be delivered through Facebook Live. The first lecture series (April 2020) featured talks from three PhD scholars, who were able to secure international scholarships. The month-long lecture series tackled the process, channels, and the tips to acquire an international scholarship. The second lecture series (May 2020) was a research guide focusing on how to write research articles and review papers. The third lecture series (June 2020) was an extension of the research guide from the previous month, and featured talks on ‘writing research proposals, polishing your CV/Resume and technical writing’.
Understanding how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected professional growth and career development, the representatives from WEmpower Pakistan conducted a meeting with the SilverLiners Club. In the meeting, the participants discussed effective ways to navigate the new professional environment during and after the pandemic. The collaborative effort also led the participants to plan for new projects on creating realistic opportunities for young professionals.