A new platform called WEST (Women in Engineering, Science and Technology) was launched to invite women researchers to register at the Indian Science, Technology and Engineering facilities Map (I-STEM).

The WEST programme will cater to women with a STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) background and empower them to contribute to the science, technology, and innovation ecosystem. 

What is I-STEM?

• Indian Science, Technology and Engineering facilities Map (I-STEM) is a dynamic and interactive national portal, which hosts various scientific programmes, initiated by the office of the Principal Scientific Adviser. 

• It is developed with the concept “One Nation One Portal” for the scientific community, aimed at “Linking Researchers and Resources”.

• The main objective of having this portal is to provide support to needy researchers in different ways and strengthen the R&D ecosystem to fulfil the necessity of people of the country.

• The portal is for sharing research equipment/facilities and is the umbrella under which many programmes for promoting collaborations in R&D and technological innovation among and between academia and industry, especially startups, are underway.

Women in Engineering, Science, and Technology (WEST)

• Given the importance of technology in future growth and innovation, strategies targeted at training and keeping women in engineering, science, and technology fields must be promoted. Granting women equal chances would not only help close the gender wage gap in the profession but also improve their economic stability and well-being, allowing the country’s competent female labor force to be fully utilised to make the historical under-representation of them in these disciplines fade away.

• To increase the participation of women in engineering, science, and technology (WEST), the I-STEM has launched a particular drive for Indian female scientists and female researchers from various domains to provide a platform where they can discuss their R&D outcomes, and problems which they encounter while conducting research and also to have awareness programs, skill development programs, and digital consortiums for live and quick discussions, and bring more students into the field of science.

• Through the WEST initiative, I-STEM shall provide a separate platform to scientifically inclined women researchers, scientists, and technologists for pursuing research in basic or applied sciences in frontier areas of science and engineering. 

• Women may join the WEST programme and explore opportunities to become stakeholders in various domains and pursue careers in R&D at various levels: technicians, technologists, scientists, and entrepreneurs. Opportunities range from operating scientific equipment and maintaining them, to designing and manufacturing them.

• The skill development programmes under the WEST initiative will provide training for women with S&T backgrounds to brush up on their abilities and become engaged “in the field” as lab technicians and maintenance engineers, filling crucial gaps in the R&D infrastructure of the country. This initiative will also help bring women back into S&T domains after a career break.

• With this experience, women can become entrepreneurs to serve as consultants for the operation and maintenance of sophisticated equipment/instruments through the I-STEM platform. This would go a long way towards filling a “skills gap”, and putting publicly-funded equipment to good use.

• Under the WEST initiative, the current support being provided to S&T startups by women entrepreneurs by I-STEM will be enhanced.

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