STEM Forums | Devpost

About Us page
Community Updates
Home-Stories
Profession Survey
Courses

Inspiration:

As students passionate about STEM, we've seen firsthand the lack of representation and support for women and non-binary individuals in our fields. Inspired to make a difference, we embarked on creating STEM Forums, a platform dedicated to empowering and championing diversity in STEM.

What it Does:

STEM Forums is our brainchild, aimed at providing a space where women and non-binary individuals in STEM can thrive. Our website hosts a curated newsletter, keeping our community updated on the latest achievements and milestones. We've also developed a career matching survey to assist users in finding roles that align with their interests, alongside offering specialized STEM courses. Through an engaging image slider, we spotlight the impactful contributions made by women and non-binary individuals in the field.

How we Built it:

Building STEM Forums was a team effort among students skilled in web development, content creation, and STEM fields. We used modern web technologies like advanced HTML, CSS keyframes and transformations, JavaScript localStorage for community updates (when we refresh the page, the updates still be on the page), and usage of complex dictionaries and methods, to create a user-friendly and accessible platform. Lots of research and feedback helped us tailor it to our peers' needs.

Challenges we Ran Into:

We had difficulties finding the right content for our newsletter, survey, and courses, and making our platform accessible while ensuring a smooth user experience was tough. Plus, none of us had much experience with backend work, so learning JavaScript was quite the journey.

Accomplishments that we're Proud of:

We're incredibly proud of the supportive community we've cultivated through STEM Forums. Seeing our platform facilitate networking, career growth, and skill development among our peers has been truly rewarding. Moreover, aligning our initiative with the five UN Sustainable Development Goals showcases the global impact of our efforts.

What we Learned:

Throughout this experience, we've learned invaluable lessons in inclusivity, collaboration, and perseverance. We gained insights into the unique challenges faced by underrepresented groups in STEM and the power of grassroots initiatives. This journey has also deepened our understanding of project management and learning new concepts in the languages we used for creating the website.

What's Next for STEM Forums:

Looking ahead, we're eager to expand our reach and impact by collaborating with organizations and industry leaders committed to diversity and inclusion in STEM. We'll continue refining our platform based on user feedback, ensuring STEM Forums remains a vital resource for our community. Additionally, we're exploring opportunities for advocacy, mentorship, and outreach to inspire future generations of diverse STEM professionals.