The Asia Foundation STEM ConnectHER program reaches Singapore

Beginning March 2024, volunteer mentors from Microsoft provided support in Singapore for early-in-career women in technology through the Asia Foundation’s STEM ConnectHER program.

Students involved in the mentor sessions have access to regional mentoring, industry speaker series, peer-to-peer networking, workplace tours, learning resources, and certificates and badges. The topics covered include cybersecurity, application development, cloud, and virtualization.

Mentors will also host site visits to the Microsoft offices, and employees are encouraged to provide panel discussions and speaking opportunities to enhance learning for the cohorts.

On 7 March 2024 and in conjunction with International Women’s Day, students from Singapore’s Institute of Technical Education visited the Microsoft Experience Center Asia, one of only 5 Experience Centers in the world as part of the program. Students were able to try out the Microsoft’s HoloLens 2 to see immersed mixed reality come to life through animated repair sequences and visual overlays of machine data – all real world uses of Microsoft’s technology by customers.

Additionally, a Microsoft Datacenter Integration employee shared some of her reflections on her career so far, starting at Microsoft being the only female datacenter inventory & asset technician at her site in Malaysia.

On 18 March 2024, a Regional Director of Datacenter Integrations, APAC represented Microsoft alongside industry peers from Micron and Cognizant on a panel titled: Beyond the classroom: Building your career in STEM. The panel aimed to share experiences and encourage aspiring and early-in-career women in technology.

The STEM ConnectHER program began as a “network of networks,” and brings learning resources and leadership development to women across Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia, and the Philippines. The Asia Foundation aims to promote collaboration between public and private sectors and localized country organizations.

With mentorship from the Microsoft volunteers, women in Singapore will have increased access to knowledgeable leaders in the technology space that will help further their careers through advancement opportunities and skills support.