Schlumberger: Faculty for the Future
Forums bring together women in science, technology, education and mathematics from around the world.
The Schlumberger Foundation’s Faculty for the Future program supports women from developing and emerging countries to pursue PhD or post-doctorate studies in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) at leading academic institutions worldwide. Upon completion of their grants, Fellows return to their home countries and become ambassadors of STEM education. The goal of the program is to reduce the international gender gap in STEM disciplines.
Since the program’s launch 13 years ago, the Foundation has hosted 17 in-person gatherings for Faculty for the Future Fellows. The annual meetings are held in association with universities where Fellows are pursuing their studies, and bring together both current Fellows and program alumnae.
The most recent Forums took place in Cambridge, United Kingdom and Bandung, Indonesia. At the Forum in Indonesia, there were over 60 Fellows and alumnae in attendance, and the gathering in the UK brought together over 40 participants.
During the Forums, the Fellows engage with distinguished scientists and hear accomplished leaders share their insights on topics such as how to support the next generation of females in STEM. Through knowledge-sharing sessions and panel discussions, participants learn skills and techniques to improve their chance of successfully impacting their community—both in their fields of science and socially, by creating conditions to enable more girls and women to follow their path.
Schlumberger Foundation president, Roseline Chapel, notes that “Through the Faculty for the Future Forums the Fellows become part of an international network of women leaders in STEM. The Forums provide the opportunity to dialogue about the unique challenges facing women in scientific disciplines and inspire the Fellows to return to their home countries with ideas to strengthen the teaching and research faculties of their home institutions as well as to support future policy-making in STEM.”