Applicant criteria
- 25 - 35
- Female
Opportunity criteria
Opportunity description
First launched in 2018, the year-long WiSER Pioneers Program offers women from across the world access to bespoke educational workshops and global networking opportunities with industry experts, supporting them to reach their full potential.
Empowering young women to take a leading role in the global transition to a net-zero future, the Program provides participants with a platform to make their voices heard and equips them with the knowledge and skills necessary to lead meaningful change. The multi-disciplinary WiSER Pioneer Program encompasses a number of key activities that focus on skill acquisition and enhancement, career advancement and networking opportunities. These include tailor-made workshops and training sessions aimed at enhancing skills in sustainability, clean energy, and leadership.
Pioneers have the opportunity to participate in the annual WiSER Cares initiative, an active learning experience focused on promoting community development through cultural exchange. The 2024 WiSER Cares trip saw 18 women complete a five-day course on adaptive agriculture in Marrakesh, Morocco.
WiSER’s mentorship scheme also plays a pivotal role in helping Pioneers advance their careers, through one-to-one mentoring sessions with senior figures from various industries. In addition, WiSER actively participates in global events and conferences such as Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW) and COP, providing a platform for Pioneers to learn, contribute to global discussions, and connect with industry leaders, policymakers, and sustainability professionals.
Benefits
- Capacity Building: The program is a springboard for participants to pivot their capacity in areas like collective leadership, transformative impact, and systemic design. Through stimulating thematic contributions, peer exchange, subject matter advisory, and project assignments, participants boost their leadership competencies as well as their global citizenship skills.
- Furthering Impact: The 8-month learning journey connects emerging change agents worldwide to refine their social impact initiatives, activate their collective leadership potential, and together ignite transformative change that cuts across barriers of place and identity, furthering the SDGs.
- Melton Fellowship: Upon successful completion of the program, participants are eligible to join the Melton Foundation’s lifelong supported community as Senior Melton Fellow, gaining access to a global community of over 600 change catalysts across the globe, project funding through our Action Grants, travel opportunities to global impact events, and more.
- Co-Lab: During the program, actively engaged participants will be invited to attend a fully-funded in-person workshop. The Global Solvers Co-Lab is an integral part of the program and creates the space for participants to connect in person and co-create transformative pathways together.
- Accelerator Fund: Participants have the opportunity to tap into immediate financial resources in support of their social impact project. The Global Solver Accelerator Fund pools a significant percentage of the Program Fees collected from participants and will be made available to deserving projects towards the end of the program.
Eligibility criteria
- Open to women aged bethttps://masdar.ae/en/strategic-global-initiatives/wiser/wiser-pioneers-programween 25 and 35 only;
- Currently employed or self-employed and holding a degree in a field related to the environment, energy, sustainability, or science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines, with a minimum of two years of work experience;
- Excellent spoken English (Arabic is optional, but not essential).