Support a Journey of a Woman in Science

Since the founding of Under the Microscope (UTM), our volunteer-run science engagement team has developed several multi-media, interdisciplinary projects to increase science literacy on the African continent and beyond. Some of these projects have included:

• The creation of a stop-motion edutainment film in collaboration with Inkscape Bureau about the importance of minimizing the disposal of garbage and litter in the ocean
• The creation of Science-Art clubs that integrate stop-motion principles to: (i) teach students how to communicate and tell stories about science and other topics and (ii) empower students at an early age to be active participants in taking care of their environments
• Empowering Teachers and Students living in Urban Settlements during COVID-19 lock-down with computers and foldscopes for teachers and students with grant support of National Geographic
• Interpreting complex journal articles for lay audiences about biomedical research advancements and discoveries with the grant support of Cool Worlds lab
• Collaborating with the talented and acclaimed musicians Watendawili to create a unique song "Leaders of Tomorrow" to celebrate the 10th International Day of the Girl Child
• Curating a team of Creatives under our "Creatives for Science" initiative to actively foster more science-art projects and collaborations on the African Continent and beyond.

Taken together, these projects have demonstrated our ability to create multi-dimensional, interdisciplinary teams to achieve impactful, meaningful, and educational Science Engagement content. Our director, Stephanie Okeyo has played an undeniable role in executing all these projects with excellence, drive, and commitment.

This upcoming year, Stephanie aims to start a one year Masters Programme in Science communication at the Imperial London College in the United Kingdom. Her full tuition fee is ￡27,000 and so far she has secured a partial scholarship of ￡11,000 towards her tuition fee. While the scholarship will provide a great boost, right now she does not have the means to self-fund her studies to join the programme. So our ask is: would you consider supporting Stephanie in her educational pursuits?

In the world of academic science, preliminary data is often required to show the feasibility of a project prior to funding. In the world of business, one often has to show Proof of Concept (POC) to demonstrate practical potential. We believe that the projects above show great promise and potential of Stephanie's abilities, and hope that we can encourage you to support her in this new venture either by contributing to the GoFundMe or by amplifying this call so that she can reach her goals.