$15.9 million awarded in Women in STEM and Entrepreneurship (WiSE) grants

Funding worth $15.9 million has been announced by federal industry and science minister Ed Husic for round four of Women in STEM and Entrepreneurship (WiSE) grants.

The grants provide between $500,000 and $1 million each towards expanding “successful projects that have increased awareness of STEM education and improved opportunities for girls or women” related to STEM careers.

Husic said in a statement on Tuesday that the focus is on projects “that remove systemic and cultural barriers for women in STEM education, careers, innovation and entrepreneurship.

“The grants program supports projects that increase the number of women in senior leadership and decision-making positions in government, research organisations, industry and business.”

Funded projects in the round include

• Geelong Manufacturing Council ($954,000) to support the Women in Manufacturing Network to partner with VET institutions and industry.
• University of Melbourne ($998,000) to place 113 women STEM postgraduate students into industry internships;
• University of Western Australia ($879,000) to train 200 women teachers, who will then teach quantum computing to 11-15 year old girls;
• Food Futures Company ($975,000) to scale up projects aimed at increasing participation of Indigenous women in the agrifood sector.
• RBG Enterprises ($999,000) for the WILD On Board program to provide opportunities for women leaders to gain board positions; 
• Code Like a Girl ($880,000) to expand its School of Code program to with an expanded course program and internship placement; and
• Indigenous Entrepreneur Network ($951,000) for culturally-appropriate coaching and training, and to build business networks to help Indigenous women and girls to thrive.

According to the statement, the first three rounds of the program have provided $10 million for 54 projects and resulted in “significant impact on the participation of women and girls” nationally.

Picture: credit RMIT University