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What is the Women in STEM and Entrepreneurship?
The Women in STEM and Entrepreneurship (WISE) is a program that will invest in gender equity initiatives aiming for lasting systemic change by eliminating barriers for women’s participation in STEM education and careers, and entrepreneurship.
Background
The Women in STEM and Entrepreneurship grants program supports a diverse range of projects that help achieve gender equity in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and entrepreneurship.
Round 4 includes a range of strategic changes to drive lasting system-wide impact. It will:
- focus on upscaling existing projects that show success in supporting women and girls in STEM and entrepreneurship
- ask applicants to provide evidence of success from an evaluation.
Since 2016, the WISE grants program had provided a total of $10 million in funding to 54 organisations in every state and territory. The initiative builds on the Australian Government’s Advancing Women in STEM strategy and 2020 Action Plan.
Objectives
The program objectives are to:
- increase awareness and participation of girls and women in STEM education and careers
- increase awareness and participation of girls and women in other parts of the innovation ecosystem including innovative businesses, start-ups and entrepreneurial activities and careers, stimulate an increase in the number of women in senior leadership and decision making positions in government, research organisations, industry and businesses.
The grant opportunity provides funding to grow and strengthen projects and organisations that have a track record of:
- reducing and/or mitigating systemic and cultural barriers to participation in STEM education, careers, innovation and entrepreneurship by girls and women
- reducing the multiplier effect of intersectional barriers to participation, development and leadership of girls and women in STEM education, careers, innovation and entrepreneurship
- increasing the participation, development and leadership of girls and women in STEM education and careers, innovation and entrepreneurship.
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Funding
$13 million in funding support is available for Round 4, the largest investment to date. Each successful grantee will receive $500,000 to $1 million in funding to grow and expand their existing projects over 3 years.
Eligible Projects
You must complete your project by 30 April 2025.
Your project must:
- scale up or extend an existing project
- reduce and/or mitigate systemic and cultural barriers to participation in STEM education, careers, innovation and entrepreneurship by girls and women
- reduce the multiplier effect of intersectional barriers to participation, development and leadership of girls and women in STEM education, careers, innovation and entrepreneurship
- address inequality or discrimination against girls and women in STEM education, careers, innovation and/or entrepreneurship (Guidelines Section 5.1)
- include project evaluation that will track the progress of your round 4 project including against grant objectives and outcomes, and your ability to effect lasting systemic and cultural change (Use of the National Evaluation Guide for STEM Gender Equity Programs is recommended, however other frameworks may be used)
- have at least $500,000 (excl. GST) in eligible expenditure
- have a COVID-19 contingency plan that does not involve an increase in grant amount requested.
Eligible Applicants
You can apply if you:
- have an Australian business number (ABN)
- are an entity, incorporated in Australia
- are a publicly funded research organisation (PFRO) or publicly funded research agency (PFRA) (Guidelines Section 14)
- are a government or non-government vocational education and training (VET) provider (Guidelines Section 14), or technical and further education (TAFE) institution
- are an incorporated not for profit organisation.
You can’t apply if you:
- a Commonwealth, state and local government agency or body (including government business enterprises other than eligible PFROs, PFRAs, VET providers and TAFE institutions)
- a primary or secondary school (however, primary and secondary schools may be part of a joint application if the lead applicant is eligible)
- an organisation, or your project partner is an organisation, included on the National Redress Scheme’s list of Institutions that have not joined or signified their intent to join the Scheme– external site
- an employer of 100 or more employees that has not complied– external site with the Workplace Gender Equality Act (2012)
- an individual
- partnership
- unincorporated association
- trust (however, an incorporated trustee may apply on behalf of a trust).
Partner with other organisations
You can partner with one or more other organisations that also meet the eligibility criteria. But you must decide who the lead organisation is.
The lead organisation must fill out the application form.
If we give your group the grant, the lead organisation:
- signs the grant agreement
- is responsible for making sure your group follows the rules in the grant agreement.
Timing
Applications close 02 March 2022.
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More Information
Round 4
| Recipient Organisation | Project Description | Grant (excl. GST) | Expected Total Investment (excl. GST) | Project Locations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Melbourne | Building on the success of Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute’s (AMSI) national postgraduate internship program’s focus on female STEM participation in industry-based research internships, this project will place 113 female STEM postgraduate research students into industry internships over three years. The project will also deliver an annual Careers and Entrepreneurship Masterclass, available to all female STEM research students, to build their research commercialisation skills. AMSI’s APR.Intern will manage the intern placements, which will be enhanced by a $7,500 rebate for industry participants. This rebate will drive industry demand for interns and aim for an increase in female postgraduate STEM participation in industry internships from the current 41% to 45% by 2025. | $998,108 | $2,410,608 | Vic |
| University of Western Australia | Quantum Girls expands Einstein-First science education by combining with UWA/Pawsey Quantum Computing to create a national education program designed to enhance female participation in all aspects of modern quantum science which underpins the STEM economy. Einstein-First already proved its ability to reverse the decline in teenage female attitudes to STEM. Quantum Girls will train 200 female teachers online, who will teach Einstein-First plus quantum computing to 11-15 year olds, coordinate afterschool Quantum Girls STEM clubs, and national Quantum Girls Hackathons supported by a team of role model inspirers. Combined with new micro-credential teacher training, evaluation of this 100-school program will define a path to future expansion. | $878,977 | $933,977 | WA |
| University of Technology Sydney | This project collates best practice across 3 interstate universities for impactful, sustainable and scalable engagement across the Women in STEM (WiSTEM) pipeline. These universities deliver multi-touchpoint school outreach with embedded evaluation reaching students (primary/secondary) and their key influencers (families/educators). Programs incorporate diverse role models and industry mentors including gender, location, LGBTQIA+ and socioeconomic status. We will collaboratively develop and freely share multi-touchpoint STEM school outreach experience, foster a community of practice and integrate industry experience. This will enable national scaling of evaluated outreach programs and long-term change to address the STEM gender gap. | $995,664 | $1,427,471 | NSW, Vic & SA |
| RBG Enterprises Pty Ltd | WILD OnBoard is an Australia-first initiative that will launch the board careers of female leaders in STEM. Building on successful delivery of the WILD Program pilot, WILD OnBoard will foster homegrown talent and provide opportunities for 50 female leaders to attain board positions, thereby delivering much needed improvements in diversity on Australian boards. The program achieves impact at the individual level via greater visibility, board connections, professional coaching and immersion in boardroom culture; and drives cultural change by helping companies overcome stereotypes and bias, and realise the benefit of diverse perspectives on decision making and business performance. | $999,322 | $999,322 | Vic |
| Austmine Limited | The project establishes a structured process to increase participation of women in the Mining Equipment, Technology & Services (METS) sector and enhance career development through leadership opportunities, work experience, skills development and engaging in new networks. The opportunity is for STEM female graduates to contribute to this innovative sector which currently has low female participation and a shortage of STEM skills critical to meet growing technology challenges. Activities are designed to improve the perception of the METS sector with female university students studying STEM while also addressing barriers to female participation. A vibrant Women in METS community will connect students and the sector beyond the project. | $649,159 | $793,259 | NSW |
| Women in Technology WA (Inc.) | Women in Technology WA (WiTWA) developed Techtrails Incursions and the Careers Discovery Platform as a result of WISE grant funding in 2017. This delivered proven and successful STEM initiatives that increase girls participation in STEM education. There is scope to further our reach through our proposed WiTWA+ Techtrails Future STEM Skills Initiative to include parents, educators and the wider community in education that promotes systemic change, reducing the barriers female students face when pursuing STEM education. This project will expand on delivering increased Techtrails School Incursions in metro and regional WA, advisory workshops to parents and educators, and further careers on discovery platforms and resource development. | $785,120 | $785,120 | WA |
| GMIC Limited | This project will strengthen the Geelong Manufacturing Council’s (GMC’s) highly successful Women in Manufacturing Network (WIMN) Mentoring & Girls Leading Advanced Manufacturing (GLAM) initiatives, into the multi-touchpoint Seed to STEM (S2S) Program. GMC will formalise partnerships with schools, VET institutions, employment agencies and industry groups, engage on-ground facilitators to bolster regional enrolment (>300%), attract diverse program mentorship and expand regionally (Bendigo/Ballarat/Colac). Women facing intersectional barriers, incl. First Nations/low-income/refugee women will receive sponsored enrolments, and regional data regarding systemic issues facing women in STEM will be collected/disseminated to the community. | $954,000 | $1,029,000 | Vic |
| Flinders University | Our ‘STEM Enrichment Academy- Phase II’ will build STEM capabilities in Year 9 girls and teachers from regional and suburban schools in SA and NT. Our previous STEM Enrichment Academy I reached hundreds of SA schoolgirls, reversing attitudes on STEM and driving enrolment (91%) in year 11/12 STEM subjects. We propose to engage a further 1000 girls and also build capability in the STEM teaching workforce through a specifically designed STEM enhancement course. Our program will include monthly hands-on skills-enrichment workshops (including industry visits), mentorship by female STEM role models, a 3-day STEM Enrichment conference with industry immersion and hands-on workshops focused on physics, and a STEM skills development day for teachers. | $996,144 | $996,144 | SA & NT |
| Settlement Services International Limited | Ignite Female Founders (IFF) will see the expansion SSI’s successful IGNITE program in locations across Australia. This expansion will see IFF support 400 women including from refugee, CALD and Indigenous communities, regions and women with disability to go from business concept to successfully trading via the provision of tailored support and female led mentoring. Ignite facilitates business creation through up to 36 months of support focusing on practical business assistance and developing the characteristic and traits of entrepreneurs. SSI will engage with women with entrepreneurial aspirations who are unable to access traditional small business support reducing their barriers to and increasing their engagement in entrepreneurship. | $750,000 | $1,063,361 | NSW & Vic |
| Code Like a Girl Pty Ltd | Leveraging Code Like a Girl’s success in educating, placing, upskilling & supporting hundreds of women in tech, we are expanding our Partner Program & scaling our School of Code. This will expand our course range; internship placement positions & capacity to deliver gender informed change management programs within industry. This will directly & impactfully increase the education pathways & employment outcomes for diverse women experiencing multiple & overlapping barriers to accessing positions of employment & leadership in the sector where our future is being designed. We will also be sharing our learnings, failures, & intellectual property from 5 years of supporting women, girls & industry leaders in tech, through our Partner Summit. | $880,000 | $1,857,500 | Vic |
| The University of Wollongong | The LIFT program will expand and connect existing strengths in women’s STEM and Entrepreneurship (STEM-E) education, participation and leadership in the Illawarra. LIFT will target all stages of the pipeline: inspiring and training STEM pre-service and active teachers, building a diverse STEM-E pipeline, supporting leadership and wider innovation ecosystem participation. All aspects of LIFT will engage each other and the broader community, with participants paying it forward as active role models. Together with our industry partners, the LIFT program will empower STEM-E women to rise to new heights, encouraging a “lift as you climb” legacy, eliminating barriers and expanding influence on future generation of girls and women in STEM. | $997,891 | $1,179,891 | NSW |
| STEM Sisters VIC Incorporated | This project aims to drive lasting systemic change by supporting Women of Colour (WOC) to overcome the intersectional barriers of gender and racial bias to increase the participation of WOC in STEM education and careers and increase their representation in STEM decision-making positions. It will see the expansion of the successful STEM Sisters program in Victoria to provide more Women of Colour across Australia with STEM Sisters’ high impact programs to support WOC at all levels of their careers in STEM. Key activities are career development and mentoring programs, and the creation of a network that connects WOC in STEM to each other, to career opportunities and provides a safe space to foster a sense of belonging for WOC in STEM. | $1,000,000 | $1,210,000 | Vic |
| KAEA Pty Ltd | The geospatial industry in Australia is experiencing significant growth underpinned by increasing demand for geospatial data, with data and digital skills dominating the fastest growing emerging skills across the economy. However, numerous reports point to the looming skilled labour shortfall. This proposal brings together and builds upon successful programs that target girls in late primary school and into secondary school, to foster a stronger connection to the geospatial and space sectors. It takes already successful initiatives, and forms a collaborative ecosystem connected to industry, research, and education to develop a pipeline of girls excited about and ready to build an education and career in the space and spatial industry. | $997,700 | $997,700 | Qld, NSW, Vic |
| Food Futures Company Pty Ltd | This scaleup project expands current work aimed at increasing participation of Indigenous women in the native agrifood sector (currently <2%). The intersectional approach addresses multiple barriers experienced by Indigenous women. Expansion includes 15 regional Project Hubs nationally and increased number of participants from 80 to >700 in STEM & Entrepreneurship Pathways support initiatives. Outcomes include: increased awareness and capability; growth in number and success of new ventures led by Indigenous women; more Indigenous girls in STEM and entrepreneurship education; visibility of Indigenous role models; strong support networks. A sustainable business model will ensure capacity to deliver long term systemic change. | $975,000 | $1,495,000 | SA, Qld, NSW & Vic |
| Indigenous Entrepreneur Network Ltd | The We Mean Business (WMB) project is designed to actively empower Indigenous women entrepreneurs. By addressing the distinct intersectional barriers to participation faced by Indigenous women and girls over centuries, the WMB project will seek to dismantle the paradigm that undervalues strong family, culture and community connection in the marketplace. The Indigenous-led project will combine culturally-appropriate confidence building and coaching sessions with business accelerator training anchored in the innovation ecosystem to support the establishment of business networks that enable the existing and enduring entrepreneurial spirit of Indigenous women and girls to thrive. | $951,400 | $996,400 | Qld, SA, Tas, NSW and NT |
| Macquarie University | The Girls to Graduates (G2G) project delivers a cohesive, integrated and sustainable approach to address under-representation of girls and women from equity backgrounds in STEM. Extending existing award-winning initiatives, the project captivates and engages girls in primary school in STEM; encourages girls in high school to be confident and build capacity; enables their transition to higher education STEM courses; and empowers and supports their University learning journey by reducing financial barriers, providing opportunities to engage with academic, research and industry mentors, partners and the community of G2G participants and facilitating the move to STEM research, career or entrepreneurship. G2G delivers a pathway to STEM success. | $971,747 | $1,352,857 | NSW |
| STEM Education Group Australia Pty Ltd | Street Science SISTA is a national STEM engagement project which works to harness a love of learning in girls aged 5 to 15 through the provision of a series of targeted opportunities to get hands-on and investigate the crucial role that Science and Technology plays in their lives. This project is one of the largest STEM Engagement opportunities ever provided to girls in Australia, and uses a series of uniquely engineered programs which allow repeated access to world class female educators who provide exhilarating and contextualised presentations and hands-on activities to link their learnings to real world outcomes. This project provides girls with access to female scientists and mentors to look up to for years to come. | $1,000,000 | $2,851,300 | Qld |
Round 3
| Recipient org/s | Project description | Grant (exc GST) | Expected total investment (exc GST) | Project location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation | The project will empower Indigenous women and rangers to engage with digital technologies, artificial intelligence (AI) and data analysis to adaptively manage their lands, drawing on our award-winning Healthy Country AI research. In collaboration with Indigenous women and rangers, the team will co-design micro-credential modules that will enable young girls and women to be trained to use the Healthy Country AI process. This will improve participants’ digital literacy and empower them to translate digital skills into job opportunities. The project will also provide vital clues about how science organisations can catalyse innovation and digital inclusion for the benefit of all Australians. | $248,804 | $319,152 | NT and QLD |
| Engineers Without Borders Australia Ltd | Engineers Without Borders Outreach program provides an experience of the engineering profession that is essential to, and active in, creating equitable, sustainable solutions for people and the planet; a message that resonates with and inspires girls. This message also engages other diverse cohorts. Outreach modules are hands-on, creative and designed to illustrate the humanitarian nature of an industry often misunderstood as purely technical. Modules are delivered by trained volunteers, of which in 2019, 60% were women. This project will increase the accessibility and efficiency of the program for greater reach to girls, and will highlight engineering as a values aligned, socio-technical profession, to bring more diversity to the profession. | $249,231 | $377,563 | VIC |
| Food Futures Company Pty Ltd | The project addresses the interconnected barriers experienced by Indigenous women that are constraining their participation in the native ag+food sector. This rapidly growing sector presents significant entrepreneurship and STEM career opportunities that merges ancient knowledge with modern science. Project design covers three stages of career development: senior school years; university & TAFE; and native ag+food entrepreneurs and business owners. Project outcomes include increased awareness and capability; increased participation by Indigenous women in entrepreneurial businesses; Indigenous female role models; an Entrepreneurship Pathways Framework; and a Business Plan aimed at securing longer term funding, sponsorship and investment. | $250,000 | $360,000 | NSW, WA, SA, QLD, NT and VIC |
| Robogals Ltd | This project will deliver a comprehensive capability-building program to support primary school teachers to engage and inspire young girls in engineering, IT and related digital technologies. Robogals will collaborate with teachers, STEM pedagogy experts and engineering professionals to co-design digital resources, lesson plans, classroom activities and teacher professional learning workshops to link curriculum outcomes to real-world applications of engineering, IT and digital technologies, and provide access to visible women role-models. We will also develop training resources to combat unconscious bias and gender stereotyping in the primary classroom | $249,400 | $539,400 | VIC and ACT |
| The Creative Co-operation Pty Ltd | The “Anyone Can” project will drive gender equity by building a pipeline of intersectional (specifically Women Of Colour) entrepreneurs in the innovation ecosystem (including from STEM backgrounds). The project will drive lasting systemic change by targeting systemic barriers impacting participation of WoC/girls. Firstly via role-modelling- through storytelling (videography), the project will showcase successful WoC entrepreneurs and a directory of 1K+ WoC entrepreneurs. Secondly, via activation- WoC are not at the same starting line. The project will deliver intersectional, cultural, age-appropriate education (mindset, business, STEM), events and pathways for 100 WoC/girls to close the gap and enter entrepreneurship/STEM education/careers. | $250,000 | $513,240 | VIC |
| University of Canberra | Our project aims to engage and excite schoolgirls and mentors in the biomedical engineering field of biomechanics at two critical points where girls and early career biomechanists disengage with engineering pathways. Through our 100-day Biomechanics Research and Innovation Challenge (BRInC), 100 Australian high school girls from diverse backgrounds will work with 25 early career female biomechanists to develop their own biomechanics story. BRInC aims to inspire girls to develop an interest in biomechanics, as well as provide awareness of entrepreneurial opportunities associated with this unique field. Concurrently, our program will build an inclusive and supportive professional network of Australian women in biomechanics. | $243,656 | $356,357 | ACT, VIC and QLD |
| Workforce Plus Inc | Change Makers of Gippsland is aiming to facilitate a sustainable partnership between secondary schools, the newly formed Australian Renewables Academy and local industry in the Wellington and East Gippsland areas of Victoria. Change Makers will introduce young women and girls to STEM, and, through collaboration and action learning, provide opportunities to co-design and develop solutions to real STEM based problems and entrepreneurship challenges. These challenges will be locally relevant and place-based and will be proposed by the emerging renewable energy and circular economy industries, agriculture and horticulture industries and by sectors that contribute to the social wellbeing and health of the region, including to bushfire recovery. | $236,600 | $285,600 | VIC |
| Young Change Agents Limited | Lighting the Spark is a cross-generational social entrepreneurship program engaging Indigenous girls aged 14-24 and Indigenous women leaders and entrepreneurs who will act as role models, mentors, co-founders and collaborators. The initiative will see entrepreneurial education experts Young Change Agents and local Indigenous organisations team up to train local Indigenous facilitators to provide design-thinking based entrepreneurial workshops involving 300 girls and 300 women across WA, NT, NSW and QLD. The project is based on 12 months co-design with Indigenous youth and the subsequent report “Lighting the Spark in our Future Leaders” launched as part of NAIDOC Week 2020. | $250,000 | $434,000 | NSW, WA,QLD and NT |
Round 2
| Recipient org/s | Project description | Grant (exc GST) | Expected total investment (exc GST) | Project location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Technology Sydney | The STEAMpunk Girls project is aimed at increasing female students’ (Year 7-10) interest in STEAM and aspiration for study and career pathways in these areas. To encourage a STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) and entrepreneurial mindset the university will run a program with multiple touchpoints where students identify a problem in their community, learn entrepreneurial methods, and develop a STEAM based solution. It will be supported by industry partnerships and professional development for participating teachers. The project will culminate in a showcase day where students present their solutions to parents and the broader community. | $250,000 | $390,000 | Ultimo, NSW 2007 |
| Desert Support Services Pty Ltd | The Martu Women in Science project will engage female Indigenous Rangers from the Matuwa Kurrara Kurrara (MKK) Indigenous Protected Area in Western Australia, and will lead a two-way science program that will be a model for how modern scientific principles and traditional ecological knowledge combined can engage Indigenous women and students in STEM education, training, employment, mentorship and leadership. The project will involve a science and training program, a ranger STEM traineeship and a Women in STEM program at Wiluna Remote Community School. Innovations and outcomes of the project will be communicated more broadly through a video and workshops. | $250,000 | $629,108 | Wiluna, WA 6646 |
| Employment Options Inc | The Expanding Horizons project will engage 80 girls (aged 13-14) from low socioeconomic backgrounds to complete an experiential learning program. The program will be composed of STEM related activities and career development interventions. Families will be invited to be involved and this will allow for an increase in their understanding of STEM careers and encourage increased awareness of and support for STEM related career aspirations. The results will be collated into a suite of resources for teachers, career development professionals and families. | $212,458 | $249,033 | Port Adelaide, SA 5015 |
| Hudson Institute of Medical Research | Hudson Institute of Medical Research’s ‘Inspiring Future Women Leaders in STEM’ program offers a laboratory experience for female secondary school students from the Institute’s local community, in the south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne. The aim is to encourage more young women to consider a career in science. Over two years (2018-19), a total of 24 female students from Year 10 and 11 will work with leading female scientists in research and daily activities at the institute. Ten students will participate each year, with an additional two opportunities for female indigenous students. The two week immersion program includes exploring a scientific research project in the laboratory, seminars, events, exposure to bio-scientific technologies and forums to seek career advice from scientists and postgraduate students. The project will culminate in an event for teachers and families where students will present their research projects and experiences. | $44,736 | $115,914 | Clayton, VIC 3168 |
| The NECESSARY Group Pty Ltd | Located in Tasmania, The Necessary Group Pty Ltd will run a project to help build a generation of female entrepreneurs who are capable of taking a profitable business to the global market. The project ‘Future Momentum; Building a generation of Tasmanian female entrepreneurs’ will consist of three areas; Entrepreneurial Toolbox events, peer support/online training, and an entrepreneurial training program. Participants will include female professionals, small business owners, graduates and emerging start ups. | $242,700 | $548,760 | Ulverstone, TAS 7315 |
| Quantal Bioscience Pty Ltd | Quantal Bioscience will design and deliver Food Science 4 Thought & Profit (FS4T&P), a 20 week program in food science and small business entrepreneurship for women in Greater Western Sydney. The project also incorporates a 6 week technical program for girls in Year 10-12. Women participants in the program will undertake laboratory training in food science microbiological and chemical techniques, complete a Food Safety Supervisors certificate, design and develop a new food product, learn from food industry and business professionals and present their product at a networking event. Students participate as laboratory assistants in new product development including mentoring by project participants. FS4T&P will also establish ongoing peer-learning and a small business network. | $86,589 | $226,589 | North Parramatta, NSW 2151 |
| Central Queensland University | CQUniversity Australia will run a project (Women in Agri-Tech: Increasing participation in the future of farming) to create and foster a strong network of female teachers who will become leaders in digital literacy, STEM and entrepreneurship in regional, rural and remote areas. Participants will take part in a Women in Agri-tech Education Symposium where they will be guided by female researchers, professionals and entrepreneurs to develop engaging learning resources. These agri-tech resources will in turn inspire girls in the classroom to realise the opportunities available to them. Partnering with their teachers, these female students will then have the chance to participate in a unique agri-tech accelerator competition to further develop their entrepreneurship skills. | $250,000 | $489,120 | North Rockhampton, QLD 4701 |
| Charles Sturt University | The Charles Sturt University will run a program, ‘Girls in Cyber Security Advancing (GiCSA) Program’, in regional NSW. The project will address the need to involve women in the cyber security professions by focusing on education of girls in high school. Year 9-10 girls in 36 high schools will attend a series of cyber security training and awareness workshops, a cyber security challenge, followed by a leadership and entrepreneurship workshop. The aim is to influence students in high school prior to deciding on Year 11 and 12 subjects and future careers. This program will be run in regional areas such as Wagga Wagga, Albury, Bathurst, Dubbo, Orange and Port Macquarie. | $236,689 | $353,744 | Albury, NSW 2678 |
| Monash University | Monash University will partner with Monash Tech School, Victorian Space and Science Education Centre, Micro:Bit, Tech Girls Movement, Hacker Exchange and Monash Generator to tailor a program to develop an entrepreneurial mindset in the next generation. 500 secondary school girls and 25 female IT students as mentors will work in teams on ideas based on the Internet of Things (the network of physical devices embedded with electronics which enables these objects to connect and exchange data). Girls will develop a project idea, prototype it, and build a viable business concept around it. The teams will receive entrepreneurship training to help further develop their ideas and the two best ideas teams will go forward to the Silicon valley-based Hacker Exchange for intensive training. | $229,749 | $438,655 | Clayton, VIC 3168 |
| Charles Darwin University | Charles Darwin University’s project, ‘Catalyzing collaboration for Northern Australia’s women scientists’, is to develop and launch a collaboration program of Northern Australian female scientists. Teams of women scientists will be established with other institutions to build networks and share ideas. The teams will incubate science invention, test the business case for the collaborative team’s research, and develop a business prospectus for their research. They will work with CSIRO and industry groups to attract buy-in across Australia and scope the potential for a national women’s science collaboration program | $155,000 | $232,000 | Brinkin, NT 0810 |
| Rotary Club of Corrimal Inc | The Rotary Club of Corrimal Inc. will jointly run a program with Project Bucephalus which is a robotics group dedicated to the FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) not-for-profit mission of inspiring young people to become involved in science and technology. The project, ‘Rocketing Girls into Robotics’, based in Wollongong NSW will run robotics workshops for girls in primary and secondary schools in the area. Eight series of workshops (2hrs/week for 9 weeks) will cover Computer Programming, Robotics, Engineering and Science. This project will provide an all-girls environment which is to encourage primary school aged girls to participate, with female secondary school girls as mentors. | $51,840 | $97,740 | Corrimal, NSW 2518 |
| Girl Guides Association of Victoria | Girl Guides Association of Victoria will run a project to identify a team of STEM leaders who will develop a workshop program for other Unit Leaders to develop their capacity to run STEM activities. With collaboration from Deakin University up to 400 Unit Leaders across Victoria will have the opportunity to attend workshops to develop STEM activities and inspire girls aged 5-17 years to be more curious about STEM. The program will include robotics, 3D printing, environmental STEM and an introduction to entrepreneurship with several camps held to encourage participation of girls. Girl Guides Victoria will promote STEM and STEM careers amongst 4,000 girls to further develop their curiosity in STEM. | $32,238 | $37,238 | Docklands, VIC 3008 |
| IntelliHQ Pty Ltd | INTELLIHQ Pty Ltd will address the current low level of women engaged in artificial intelligence (AI) teams. Located on the Gold Coast in Queensland it will develop a program for young women to provide them with inclusion in AI innovation and commercialisation. The project will include an online media promotion to raise awareness, provide 225 positions at a week-long camp, and create an ambassador program and mentors to assist with individual pathways into industry. High school Year 10-12, university STEM and entrepreneurship students and young female entrepreneurs in the start-up community will be the target for this program | $162,200 | $471,200 | Southport, QLD 4215 |
| Flinders University of South Australia | Flinders University of South Australia will run an enrichment program for Year 9 female students and teachers to encourage interest in Physics and Engineering. The program will provide information across a range of industries and highlight future career opportunities. Activities will comprise monthly skills enrichment workshops that combine industry visits, and interactive mentorship with STEM role models and industry representatives. An end of project conference (3 days) for all workshop participants will be held with STEM activities such as interactive labs in robotics, engineering and physics. An industry immersion for the girls and a teachers program will also be included. | $167,960 | $250,000 | Bedford Park, SA 5042 |
| That Start Up Show Pty Ltd | That Startup Show will create a production studio to run podcasts, events and TV series to support the development of entrepreneurial technologies and business startups in Australia. The project will produce ten TV episodes of a series called ‘That Startup Show’ featuring aspiring entrepreneurs pitching ideas to established entrepreneurs. The project will include the podcasts (Girl Geek Show) which will explore stories about high profile female entrepreneurs. The studio will also be used for workshops to encourage inspiring female entrepreneurs to develop their pitch and presentation skills. This will help them showcase their business and presentation skills for both TV and media channels. The target audience is 18-35 year old women with extended online distribution to include Virgin Airlines and iTunes | $250,000 | $650,000 | Melbourne, VIC 3000 |
| Cicada Innovations Pty Ltd | Cicada Innovations Pty Ltd will host an educational course followed by a networking event which will target women studying STEM at university. ‘Project XX’ will allow female university students to explore career paths within STEM outside of academia. The target audience is female STEM undergraduates, early stage researchers and aspiring female entrepreneurs in NSW. | $146,000 | $146,000 | Eveleigh, NSW 2015 |
| Skilligence Pty Ltd | Junior Engineers (JE) will establish a Females in STEM Program aimed at acquiring, engaging and educating females in grades 1-10 in order to set them up for a future career in technology or tech-related fields. The JE’s will develop the curriculum to be implemented into both primary and secondary schools. Beginning in Queensland the program will be marketed nationally with the aim of reaching 150,000 students. The program will cover coding, robotics and digital technologies. The JE will also run a version of the curriculum in school holiday programs. | $220,000 | $335,000 | Chapel Hill, QLD 4069 |
| Centre for Eye Research Australia Limited | The WILD Program is a STEM leadership course developed by women, for women. It will provide a group of Victorian mid-career women with the necessary qualifications, skills and confidence to achieve career momentum and attain senior leadership roles, particularly company directorships. By doing so, it will help to address gender disparity across the STEM sector. The WILD Program will be led by Centre for Eye Research Australia, with a project team comprising STEM professionals across Victoria. | $174,900 | $265,900 | East Melbourne, VIC 3002 |
| UAVAIR Pty Ltd | ‘Empowering Women in AgTech’ is a program to increase the skills and knowledge of women and girls in regional and rural QLD, NSW and Vic. UAVAIR Pty Ltd will team with ‘Smart Farms’ where robotics and wireless sensors are currently in use to improve farming and environmental outcomes. Year 9 and 10 girls will be provided with short courses and workshops in aerial robotics in agriculture, including visits to smart farms to see aerial technology in action. Young women under 25 who have completed STEM subjects will also be included in this program with two seven-day training programs held in rural aerial technology. | $249,150 | $322,900 | Mayfield West, NSW 2304 |
| Australian Academy of Science | The project ‘#WomenInSTEMOnline’ will promote gender equity by improving female participation in STEM conferences and panels, science and technology media, government and industry committees and boards and STEM award nominations and applications. The online portal will comprise a curated directory of 1000+ industry, academic and professional women in STEM, training and support for women on presentations, media appearances, and award applications, a national Women in STEM symposium and a gender equity toolkit for conference organisers, businesses and agencies. The project is a collaboration between the Academy of Science, CSIRO, the Australian Science Media Centre and Science and Technology Australia, and is targeted to female STEM professionals nationally. | $249,175 | $433,712 | Canberra, ACT 2601 |
| Playable Spaces Pty Ltd | Playable Spaces will design and implement twelve Pop-Up STEM Playground multi-day events in communities around Australia. Re-imagined public spaces will be transformed into STEM activity hubs for trained female ‘STEM Champions’ to lead Girl First Play Sessions for pre-school and primary school-aged girls. Parents and siblings will participate with children to investigate, theorise, collaborate, problem solve, prototype and create. The project will include digital distribution of STEM Playbooks for parents to implement play-based STEM learning at home. 10,000 pre-school and primary school aged girls plus 300,000 siblings, parents, educators will be targeted in twelve Australian communities. | $246,290 | $448,010 | Caringbah, NSW 2229 |
| Federation University Australia | The ‘Inspire Me’ project is part of a larger project ‘Transforming Lives and Enhancing Communities’. Inspire Me Workshops will be held in regional Victoria, with the one day workshops designed to inspire young Indigenous women in Years 7 & 8 to include Maths and Sciences in their curriculum choices. Inspire Me will provide a platform for female Indigenous Communities and business leaders to share their story and work with the girls to continue their studies and realise their potential in the field of STEM or entrepreneurship. Federation University Australia has secured inspirational leaders at all three events and the project will receive support from Indigenous Business Women, Local Tertiary Students, Career Professionals, Koori Education support officers and Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience mentors | $138,385 | $183,981 | Churchill, VIC 3842 |
Round 1
| Recipient org/s | Project description | Grant (exc GST) | Expected total investment (exc GST) | Project location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AINSE Limited | The Australian Institute of Nuclear Science and Engineering (AINSE) will hold a school specifically for women at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO). The school will be targeted at 1st year University students with an emphasis on women in STEM and their career opportunities in nuclear science and engineering. AINSE will invite a female student from each of its 35 Australian University members to attend the school and experience the infrastructure and leadership roles at ANSTO, along with a mentoring program. | $35,000 | $60,000 | Lucas Heights, NSW 2234 |
| Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering Limited t/a Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering | The project will produce a series of up to 20 video profiles utilising female role models in STEM industries to be integrated into the Science and Technology Education Leveraging Relevance (STELR) program but with a focus to develop girls taking up STEM fields. | $250,000 | $310,000 | Melbourne, VIC 3004 |
| CBR Innovation Network Limited | The project is to create an out-of-school, 10-week programme for girls in Canberra and the nearby regional area. The programme will be run four times over a two-year period and is designed to develop girls STEM skills, entrepreneurial skills and provide them with knowledge of the STEM entrepreneurial career pathways available. The activities in this project include skills workshops, career presentations, and field trips, connections with female STEM mentors, role models and speakers. | $240,000 | $300,000 | Canberra, ACT 2601 |
| Education Changemakers Pty Ltd | The grant will help support a project that will focus on thirty female teachers or educators from regional areas attending three workshops and providing them with the tools required to implement change initiatives in their areas. Coaching, mentoring, online learning will also be used and case studies developed. The aim of the project is to identify the issues, develop strategies, prototyping, and leadership and impact assessments to improve tertiary enrolments’ for girls in rural areas. | $112,500 | $260,900 | South Melbourne, VIC 3205 |
| Florey Neuroscience Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health | Women in Science Parkville Precinct (WiSPP) is a collective impact initiative involving five of Australia’s largest medical research institutes, representing over 4000 scientists solving health problems in immunity, childhood disorders, brain disease and cancer. The aim of the project is to support and measure the impact of WiSPPs collective initiatives to overcome the barriers for women to excel and succeed in gaining leadership positions. | $250,000 | $400,000 | Parkville, VIC 3052 |
| GMIC Limited t/a Geelong Manufacturing Council | This project aims to support, promote and encourage women in manufacturing and engineering in the Geelong area. By offering a series of initiatives, presentations including guest speakers and role models, workshops, networking events and mentor training, this project will assist in the development of careers’ of women in this regional area. With a history in fabrication, Geelong is currently transitioning to high-skilled advanced manufacturing and this project is to ensure women are a significant part of this. | $75,000 | $114,500 | Geelong, VIC 3220 |
| Girl Geek Academy Pty. Ltd. | The project aims to train teachers to deliver science curricula (algorithmic thinking, computational thinking, software development and coding) in schools across Australia. The project focuses on girls aged 5-8 years and consists of one-day events, on-line training and on-going support. Aligned with the National Digital Technologies Curriculum, the goal is to increase awareness and participation of girls in STEM and entrepreneurship education at the earliest schooling opportunity. | $250,000 | $1,201,650 | Melbourne, VIC 3000 |
| Golden West Apprenticeships Limited | Golden West Apprenticeships is running a program called Engineering Girls on the Downs which aims to provide school based engineering traineeships to six girls base in the Darling Downs area of Queensland. The program is designed to help eliminate some of the barriers that exist stopping girls from pursuing STEM and entrepreneurship education and careers. Upon successful completion of the program the girls will receive a nationally recognised qualification in Certificate II in Engineering. It is expected this will allow a pathway to an engineering apprenticeship or to university, depending on their choices and desires that will emerge during the traineeship.The program will also involve female mentorship sessions run by a mentor who currently works in the industry. | $55,441 | $55,441 | Roma, QLD 4455 |
| James Cook University | Grant funding to support the She Flies Drone Camps: Building Northern Australia’s Drone Ecosystem. The project will focus on developing a series of camps aimed at teaching high school girls and their teachers or parents the possibilities of working with, and flying drones from design and coding through to flying and finally using photography to create maps. | $249,075 | $465,475 | Smithfield, QLD 4878 |
| Murdoch University | Murdoch University will be hosting a series of Showcase Days for Perth schoolgirls in early high school (Years 8 to 10) with the aim of demystifying career prospects within the STEM field. The Showcase Days will feature a range of inspirational women speakers, whose talks will be recorded and made available to other female students through the School of the Air and Isolated Distance Learning. In addition, workshops will be held with parents and teachers in their roles as primary influencers of female students. The object of these workshops is to give more information on helping girls decide what subjects to study. | $58,300 | $120,900 | Murdoch, WA 6150 |
| Peopleplan Pty Limited | eLearning specialists Peopleplan Pty Ltd and Social enterprise Young Change Agents have partnered for this program. Young Change Agents have successfully delivered design-thinking based social entrepreneurship programs to more than 200 youth in NSW during 2016. The objective of the program is to teach young people to see problems as opportunities, through critical thinking, creativity and communication. The WISE grant will enable the partnership to build the capacity of teachers through digital learning and an expansion of the face-to-face programs and youth incubators for teenage girls in regional NSW, Queensland and the NT. | $244,000 | $451,500 | Surry Hills, NSW 2010 |
| Resource Industry Network Co-op Ltd | This project will develop toolkits, courses, provide coaching and implement strategies addressing gender inequity in the Mackay region. The project aims to increase the representation of women in STEM fields and leadership within the Mackay Isaac Whitsunday region by changing community perceptions, workplace culture, the make-up of leadership groups and educational attraction for girls. | $86,600 | $133,100 | Ooralea, QLD 4740 |
| Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology t/a RMIT University | The grant will support a program that targets high school girls from years 7 to 9 and involves a series of workshops and mentoring activities to provide students hands-on experience in STEM-related activities to explore the creative possibilities of STEM disciplines. | $99,680 | $149,417 | Melbourne, VIC 3000 |
| SBE Australia Limited | The project aims to develop a STEM-focussed early stage accelerator program for women that will provide the resources and network guidance to help women with STEM backgrounds seize entrepreneurial opportunities and build confident business foundations. | $250,000 | $350,000 | Sydney, NSW 2000 |
| Subsea Energy Australia Inc | Subsea Energy Australia Inc – Improving participation rates of women in subsea engineering. This project involves availing a series of workshops and networking events, as well as the creation of education materials and development programs, specific to the subsea sector and engineering for women. | $174,840 | $375,640 | Perth, WA 6000 |
| The Federation of Australian Scientific and Technological Societies Incorporated t/a Science & Technology Australia | Science & Technology Australia is the national peak body for Australia’s scientists and those working in technology. The project, ‘Superstars of STEM’, will support thirty women currently employed in STEM sectors to become highly visible public role models, to encourage girls and young women’s interest in STEM careers. The project will build the women’s profiles through training in public speaking, media, and communicating with influence, and through creating opportunities to practice their newly acquired skills. It will also create and support networks and mentoring. | $178,500 | $272,500 | Canberra, ACT 2601 |
| The Royal Institution of Australia Incorporated | A new sub-channel will be initiated on Australia’s Science Channel. This project will develop the channel and content while ensuring Women in STEM focus is considered within all produced content. Marketed to both general and school specific audiences, this ‘Women in STEM’ channel will address the gaps currently existing with women working and studying in STEM. | $80,000 | $160,000 | Adelaide, SA 5000 |
| The University of Adelaide | The “Women Leaders in STEM Careers” is a personal and professional development programme designed to develop young female leaders and entrepreneurs in their chosen STEM career. The personal development component includes training modules focused on confidence building, exploring the expectations and challenges faced by women undertaking STEM careers. The professional development component exposes participants to networking opportunities through tailored panel and networking sessions, provides skills development workshops with Industry, and entrepreneurship and innovation workshops. | $181,726 | $231,726 | Adelaide, SA 5005 |
| University of Southern Queensland | The grant will support a program called WiRE (Women in Rural Enterprises), the aim of which is to develop entrepreneurship amongst women in rural, regional and remote Queensland. | $248,167 | $662,289 | Darling Heights, QLD 4350 |
| University of Sydney | The grant will support the ARC Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics (CAASTRO) ‘CAASTRO in the Classroom’ program and the ‘CAASTRO Galaxy Convention’. The classroom program is an existing outreach activity designed to link high school students with CAASTRO’s research scientists and PhD students. This grant will extend the program to add a new exclusive girls session. The convention is a multi-day workshop for PhD candidates, university researchers, high school and university students to work with innovators and entrepreneurs to develop business ideas. | $250,000 | $610,000 | Camperdown, Sydney University, NSW 2006 |
| The University of Wollongong | The University of Wollongong’s Science Centre & Planetarium will be the lead partner for a major Festival of STEM which will feature key stakeholders from across its campuses who will deliver an extensive program of STEM based activities, primarily using women scientist as strong role models to 2,500 students over five days to inspire these students, particularly women, to pursue a future in STEM. | $194,844 | $410,796 | Wollongong, NSW 2522 |
| Verco Engineering Pty Ltd t/a Mace Engineering Services | The grant will support Verco Engineering to run a program called Super STEM Regional SA, which is aimed at high school girls in Years 9 and 10 who are approaching the period when they must choose their senior subjects. | $46,900 | $72,800 | Clare, SA 5453 |
| The Warren Centre for Advanced Engineering Limited | The Warren Centre for Advanced Engineering is located within the University of Sydney. The project, ‘The Warren Centre Women in STEM and Entrepreneurship Program’ will use video interviews of successful STEM students, training and professional development courses to assist women to navigate a successful career and overcome gender inequity in STEM. This project will also include entrepreneurship events and personal development courses with specific STEM content. | $192,000 | $392,000 | Camperdown, Sydney University, NSW 2006 |
| Women in Technology WA (Inc.) | Targeting WA high school students in years 9 and 10, Techtrails is an incursion program emphasising the importance of positive female role modelling of women in STEM careers to all genders. | $119,254 | $255,414 | Bibra Lake, WA 6163 |
| Total | $3,921,827 | $7,816,048 |
Latest News
Funding worth $15.9 million has been announced by federal industry and science minister Ed Husic for round four of Women in STEM and Entrepreneurship (WiSE) grants.
The grants provide between $500,000 and $1 million each towards expanding “successful projects that have increased awareness of STEM education and improved opportunities for girls or women” related to STEM careers.
The grants are aimed at increasing the number of women in senior leadership and decision-making positions.
Funded projects in the round include
- Geelong Manufacturing Council ($954,000) to support the Women in Manufacturing Network to partner with VET institutions and industry.
- University of Melbourne ($998,000) to place 113 women STEM postgraduate students into industry internships;
- University of Western Australia ($879,000) to train 200 women teachers, who will then teach quantum computing to 11-15 year old girls;
- Food Futures Company ($975,000) to scale up projects aimed at increasing participation of Indigenous women in the agrifood sector.
- RBG Enterprises ($999,000) for the WILD On Board program to provide opportunities for women leaders to gain board positions;
- Code Like a Girl ($880,000) to expand its School of Code program to with an expanded course program and internship placement; and
- Indigenous Entrepreneur Network ($951,000) for culturally-appropriate coaching and training, and to build business networks to help Indigenous women and girls to thrive.
