Sherpa

Our Sherpa Checklist

Take a look at what our Sherpas do below, if you can check off every element, then please sign-up today! We'd love to have you join our network of amazing 'Women in STEM' who are passionate about supporting the next generation of game-changers to see their STEM potential.

Cohort Length

Your cohort will be 4 months long. Depending on what time of year your cohort starts there might be a pause period to allow for exams or holidays. Therefore, your cohort might be 6 months from start to finish but only active for 4.

Time Commitment

We ask for a minimum of 8 hours across the whole 4 months. You'll aim to meet-up with your Sherpee for 1 hour every fortnight, with at least half being face-to-face at your office or a local café

Communication

We will contact you via the email and mobile number you provide in your application. These are the details we share with your Sherpee too. We ask that you respond within 72 hours to our messages once on the programme and just let us know if you're off on your holidays or feeling under-the-weather.

Your Network

In this journey of discovery, you'll find that certain people in your network are exactly who your Sherpee needs to meet and get some input from. We're asking you to open your own little black book of colleagues, former colleagues and professional contacts to allow your Sherpee to see how the (STEM) world works and appreciate what it is to meet people from different walks of life with different perspectives. 

Work Place Shadowing

One great way to understand the industry is to experience it and see it from inside. We're encouraging you to have your Sherpee shadow you for at least one day - or spend some time doing work experience with a colleague, your team or someone relevant to your network. This will give them the chance to see the STEM workplace up close, ask great questions and meet real people in the industry.

Sherpa Support

You'll be given access to an online platform where you can easily access our Meeting Guides and Topic Guides. Your first and second meetings are planned out and include activities so you can get to know your Sherpee better and set some goals. After the first 2 meetings, you can select Topic Guides. You do not have to use these though - they are like your safety net.  

More than a Mentor

If mentors help define the dream, sponsors are the dream-enablers. Sponsors deliver: They make you visible to leaders within the company — and to top people outside as well. They connect you to career opportunities and provide air cover when you encounter trouble. When it comes to opening doors, they don’t stop with one promotion: They’ll see you to the threshold of power. [Forbes]

We're looking to equip the next generation of females in STEM with a great toolkit for building their career - a crucial part of which is fostering powerful relationships with mentors and sponsors. You'll be acting as a sponsor a.k.a Sherpa for one young woman over the course of 4 months - opening doors for her and exposing her to new opportunities, ways of thinking and career paths. Using our MeetGuides at each month's meeting, you'll help her to see her career from an alternative perspective, apply for schemes and meet the right kind of people.

JOIN OUR LONDON COHORT

You can now apply to be a part of a London cohort and be matched with a Sherpee at one of our matching events.

JOIN OUR BIRMINGHAM COHORT

You can now apply to be a part of a B'ham cohort and be matched with a Sherpee based in the Midlands

JOIN OUR SCOTTISH COHORT

You can now apply to be a part of a Scottish cohort and be matched online with a Sherpee based in Scotland

JOIN OUR BRISTOL COHORT

You can now apply to be a part of our Bristol cohort and be matched online with a Sherpee based in Bristol