WEPAN Newsletter March 2024

"Working with the Patent Office" with TIPA and Qualcomm

Sponsored by Qualcomm, this WEPAN webinar series explores topics covered in The Inventor’s Patent Academy (TIPA), a free three-part course that supports current and future inventors in understanding patenting, intellectual property, and how to navigate the patenting system.

The third and final webinar in this WEPAN series on Tuesday, April 16, 11am-12pm ET aligns with Module 3 of TIPA, "Working with the Patent Office," which covers how to write claims, office actions and responses, and activities that occur after your patent issues. Join us for this panel discussion featuring experts who will share their knowledge, strategies, tools, and tips for navigating your own patent journey. Register at bit.ly/TIPAWEPAN3‍

TIPA, created by Qualcomm and Invent Together, is a six-hour course you can complete at your own pace. Each of the course's three modules is broken down into lessons of approximately 10 minutes, allowing for completion on a timeline that works for you. To learn more about The Inventor's Patent Academy and to take Module 1 and 2, visit https://learn.inventtogether.org/qualcomm

Events

Registration Open for the 2024 ADVANCE EiSCC

Registration is open for the 2024 ADVANCE EiSCC! Join us in Baltimore, Maryland from June 2-5 at the Hilton Inner Harbor.

The complimentary annual conference registrations that are a part of institutional memberships will be applied to this conference. Additionally, all WEPAN members receive a $150 discount off the general registration price.

There is also a virtual ticket option for $50. Virtual attendees will have access to the live streamed plenary sessions through the WEPAN Events App. Virtual attendees have event app access for networking, viewing presenter materials, and using other features.

Register at https://registration.socio.events/e/adveiscc2024/

News

REU STEM Research for Social Change

Do you want to use your skills and talents as an emerging STEM professional to help make the world a more just and equitable place?  If so, we invite you to apply to the National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates STEM Research for Social Change program. This program is a collaborative effort among the University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio, Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio, and St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas.

This ten-week program will give you a chance to explore and gain knowledge in engineering, chemistry and physics research through participation in cutting edge, faculty mentored research that has a meaningful and positive impact on society and that promotes social change for equitable communities as defined by the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). Additionally, you will participate in professional development, professional and peer networking, and social activities designed to help you succeed in your future career.

Learn more and apply at: udayton.edu/engineering/research/reu/social-change

Game Changer Academies 2024 Cohort Applications Now Open

C-GCA is a partnership between the CMMI division of the Engineering Directorate at NSF and Kardia Group, a network of professionals devoted to excellence in the culture, functionality, and success of the academic endeavor. C-GCA is a virtual program for members of NSF’s Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation community that builds on NSF’s robust agenda for rewarding innovation and transformative science through high functioning panel discussions.

The C-GCA curriculum examines group dynamics, cognitive bias, multiple perspectives, and conflict skills as they apply to panel discussions (as well as other peer review and decision-making contexts in academia).

The 2024 C-GCA program will be a 12-week program in the fall. Successful completion of C-GCA requires ~25 hours including: ~5 hours of asynchronous work this summer, ~10 hours of asynchronous work in the fall, and full participation in six 90-minute virtual interactive sessions. The schedule for the live events is available on the GCA website: www.gamechangeracademies.com  

Applications are open through March 31: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CGCA2024ARC

"A Closer Look at Intercultural Dynamics and Relationship Building within the Inclusive Professional Framework (IPF)"

Tuesday, April 9, 2024, 2-5pm ET,https://bit.ly/3TA2y9Y

Are you already familiar with the Inclusive Professional Framework for Faculty (IPF: Faculty), or have you engaged in other identity-related professional development work in the past? Join this session to explore more deeply the intercultural awareness and relational and communication domains of the IPF: Faculty.

An identity activity will be required as pre-work and the result will be part of the introduction activity to ensure that everyone is entering this workshop with a basic understanding of how their identity and other's identities impact their role and work. This workshop will go deeper into the cultural wealth model, multicontextuality, and how those impact communication while fleshing out the IPF: Faculty more so that application of the IPF is clearer.

WEPAN Listserv

Do you have something to tell the WEPAN community? Remember that subscription to the WEPAN-L listserv is a member benefit! Share announcements, post publication opportunities, and collaborate with colleagues from different institutions and organizations on special projects.

To subscribe to the WEPAN-L listserv, visit: lists.purdue.edu/mailman/listinfo/wepan-l

Resources

Publications, reports, or communications relevant to women in engineering and STEM equity. All resources listed below are available in the ARC Network online resource library. If you need help accessing the library, please contact ARC Librarian Bethany Farmer at bethany@wepan.org.  

• "Critical consciousness of gender inequality: Considering the viewpoints of racially diverse high school girls with engineering aspirations" by C. Riegle-Crumb, T. Russo-Tait, K. Doerr, & U. Nguyen

"This study utilizes interviews with 33 racially diverse high school girls who have expressed interest in engineering careers. Using the framework of critical consciousness and informed by intersectional theories, the authors examine their views about gender inequality in engineering. Results revealed that while most articulated systemic understandings of inequality, Black participants were particularly likely to exhibit this critical reflection. Yet many young women revealed a more emerging form of critical reflection, particularly Asian participants. Few respondents expressed critical self-efficacy, or confidence to challenge gender inequality in their future careers; such views were almost exclusively held by Black and Latinx respondents. In contrast, White respondents commonly invoked a "lean-in" self-efficacy to be successful navigating, but not challenging, the White male-dominated engineering workforce. Overall, we find clear evidence that young women's racialized identities have implications not only for their understandings of gender inequality, but also for their motivation to disrupt it."

ARC Network

Funded by the National Science Foundation ADVANCE Program, Awards HRD-2121468 and HRD-1740860, the ADVANCE Resource and Coordination (ARC) Network seeks to achieve gender equity for faculty in higher education science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. WEPAN serves as the backbone organization of the ARC Network.‍

Read and Give Feedback on the Latest ARC Emerging Research Workshop Reports

The two newest reports from the ARC Network's Emerging Research Workshops have been released. The reports, "Using Big Data and Algorithms to Foster Equity in STEM" and "Cultivating Equity In STEM Through Inclusive Language," cover research and promising practices on each of the topics and suggest new directions for future work. We invite the community to share their expertise on the topics. To read the reports and share your input visit https://www.equityinstem.org/about-emerging-research-workshops.

Institutional WEPAN Membership

Want to encourage your institution to deepen its commitment to equity and excellence?

Consider becoming a 30 for 30 Institutional Champion Member. At this membership level, institutions have unlimited member representatives who get to dive into critical diversity, equity, and inclusion issues through custom workshops. These members also get the opportunity to strengthen their inclusive leadership capacity as part of the Equity and Excellence Council. Additional 30 for 30 Institutional Champion member benefits include:

• Professional Development
• Decades of resources in the WEPAN Knowledge Center
• Professional development webinars, including one featuring an invited speaker from your institution
• Free and discounted workshops, including one customized for your institution
• Free and discounted access to WEPAN’s Program Days
• Three annual convening registrations
• Communication & Networking
• WEPAN-L listserv
• Slack
• WEPAN member directory
• Social media spotlights of your institution
• Workforce
• Free and discounted job postings for your institution in WEPAN’s Career Center

For more information on how to become a 30 for 30 Institutional Member, please email membership@wepan.org.

WEPAN Slack Channel

Please join us on Slack to drive that connectivity across our membership during a critical time for connection. Join our Slack community today!

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