PROVOCA opens a call for interested STEM students and professionals who wish to help them on their way

The AUI/NRAO initiative is completely free and will be carried out online, and for the second consecutive year it seeks to encourage, guide and accompany high school or higher education students with an interest in STEM, in addition to training a new generation of mentors. The 2023 call will be open until May 21 for students and for those who wish to train as future mentors.

Andrea Riquelme, Journalist.- The AUI/NRAO PROVOCA mentoring program opened a new call for students of secondary education and higher education, with a vocation in the STEM disciplines, an acronym in English associated with science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The program is totally free and in an online or hybrid format, admitting the application of girls and young women from all over the country.

Additionally, the call for women professionals, technicians, academics and advanced STEM students who wish to be certified to participate in mentoring from the role of mentor was also open.

As in 2022, the 2023 call for students is aimed at high school girls interested in STEM careers, or young people in higher education (university or technical-professional) of a STEM career. The call will be open until May 21.

The call for training of mentors seeks volunteers who are already on the STEM path and wish to reinforce or develop the skills that will help them accompany a future generation of PROVOCA students.

The AUI/NRAO PROVOCA mentorships were created to strengthen female STEM vocations and guide them on the path to achieve it. PROVOCA is not an academic reinforcement program, but a way to discover and plan the next steps accompanied by mentors and students captivated by STEM. The PROVOCA work philosophy is based on three fundamental pillars: familiarization with the disciplines and paths in STEM careers; development of key skills such as effective communication, group work, self-awareness, etc.; and the formation of support networks among peers and with mentors.

On this basis, the certification for mentors was also created, where those who will be the main ones in charge of accompanying the students in their mentoring program are trained.

The future mentors will work between May and December on their training program and will create a project that will allow them to become certified as PROVOCA mentors.

The selected students will also work from May and December 2023 with two already certified mentors and with 3 other students. They will have the opportunity to understand what it means to study a STEM career, how to apply and what are the job and/or academic opportunities. They will also acquire tools and develop skills necessary to make their experience the best possible and their career decision the most informed.

Paulina Bocaz, director and founder of PROVOCA, points out that: “This type of initiative contributes to building bridges between the new generations with STEM women with solid career paths in various sciences, thus reducing their fears and strengthening self-confidence, hand in hand with tools and counseling. It is a program with a double human enrichment, both for the mentors and the students who participate”.

Bases of the program and application forms in the following links:

https://nrao.cl/iniciativas/provoca/