The Expat Woman Hackathon (studyFUND)
For years now, The Expat Woman Hackathon has focused on addressing the gender gap in STEM fields. This event gave the team and me the opportunity to spend the day working on a product aimed at engaging more girls in STEM. StudyFund allows girls to take STEM coursework and earn scholarship money for college, further bridging the gender gap within the classrooms and the workforce.
Problem
Low inflow of women into STEM in academia and the corporate world.
17.5% of Computer Science Degrees, 19.3% of Engineering Degrees, 43.1% of Mathematics.
Women make up only 29% of the Science and Engineering Workforce.
College is expensive.
The average Class of 2016 graduate has $37K in student loan debt.
Students are working hourly jobs to make money.
In 2011, 28% of high school students aged 16 and over worked more than 1 week per year.
Solution
A platform that incentivizes high school students to engage in online STEM courses to earn scholarship money for STEM college coursework.
Value to Students:
Exposure to the STEM field early on
Help to figure out if STEM is the right fit
Students earn scholarship money while learning online
Resume builder
Value to Universities and Corporations:
Increase female STEM exposure and thus the pipeline
Modernized recruiting tool
How It Works For Students
Business Plan
Ongoing Expenses:
Administrative
Course Partner
Employee salaries
Marketing expenses
Transportation/travel
Paying out scholarships
Technology (hardware, infrastructure, software development)
Revenue Streams:
Funding from Corporations
Funding from Universities
Funding from Federal Grants (e.g., National Science Foundation)
Partners:
Universities (e.g., MIT, Stanford, CMU)
Companies
Yearly expenses: $317,000
Funding goals: $500,000
Threats and Risks
Plagiarism
Not enough monetary incentive for those who really need the money
Is high school too late for introduction to STEM?
Technical integration with partners
Securing user information for payments
Similar offerings
High school internships
Existing STEM courses for high schoolers
Existing STEM scholarships for women
Dual enrollment
Marketing Plan
Market to High Schoolers
High schools in big metropolitan areas
Student counselors
Weekly after-school coding sessions
Recruitment/referral incentives
Partnering with professional organizations
Social media
College fairs
Host meetups
Women’s clothing brand
Market to Universities and Companies
In-person pitch for business partnership
Product Timeline
Prototype
Team
Saturday, March 24, 2018
Angela Camp - Originated the idea and led the team
Irina Yevtukh, Angela Camp, Catherine Coleman, Linda Nguyen, & Ramona Stoica - Worked on product timeline, marketing plan, business plan, presentation, SWOT, & research
Joanna Chan - Created prototype in Sketch
Irina Yevtukh & Joanna Chan - Worked on the content of Prototype
