Out to Innovate 2012 will be a two-day career summit for LGBT students, faculty and professionals in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Join us October 13-14, 2012 at Ohio State University in Columbus for a weekend of sharing, mentoring, learning, workshops, poster session, and career resources.
National Organization of Gay and Lesbian Scientists and Technical Professionals (NOGLSTP) and Ohio State Universityʼs OSTEM (Out in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) present “Out to Innovate 2012”, a summit intended to bring together LGBT and Ally high school, college and post-doctoral students, with LGBT career professionals, academics, and employers in the Science / Technology / Engineering / Mathematics community to share diversity, mentoring, and career learning opportunities.
What to expect at this event:
- Keynote Address by MIT Professor of Astrophysics Dr. Nergis Mavalvala
- Poster Session – Undergraduate, graduate, and post-doctoral students will be encouraged to submit posters of their work/studies for viewing during the summit and discussion during the closing reception.
- Workshops Sessions with topics to include:
- Mentoring LGBT Students
- Being Out in Your STEM Educational Environment
- Creating Safe Space in STEM Careers
- STEM Opportunities in the Government
- Activism, Leadership, and Career
- Power in Numbers – The role of LGBT policy in Professional Societies.
- Successful Strategies for STEM Employment Opportunities
- Transgender in the STEM Workplace: Unique Challenges and Perspectives
- Successful Resume Writing for the LGBT STEM Student
- Plenary lectures – Featuring successful academics and industrial professionals
- Career Opportunity Fair • Interview Opportunities for employment
- Saturday night NOGLSTP Recognition Awards Gala Dinner
Background
There is an abundant need to fill the technological pipeline with highly trained scientists and technicians, especially for research, design, and engineering positions that require employees to have a college degree and skills in math, science, or technology. All groups of students continue to drop out of the educational pipeline in science and technology at alarming rates, but women and ethnic minority youth drop out at a faster rate at each transition point within higher education.
An increasing body of evidence shows the unique challenges that young LGBT individuals inclined toward careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics face.* Many students may be socially marginalized or even abandoned by family, friends and society because of their sexual orientation, gender expression or gender identity. Feeling the isolation and the pressure to succeed, many students may choose not to stay the course in their career track. There are few out role models for these individuals to give them a sense that the career they would like to have is attainable. Yet, at the same time, LGBT STEM professionals have made substantial formal and informal strides in achieving workplace equality.** As the 2010 inaugural Out To Innovate Summit at USC highlighted, the time is NOW to bring together LGBT and Ally high school, college, and post-doctoral students with LGBT career professionals, academics, and employers in the STEM community for a day of sharing diversity, mentoring, and career learning opportunities.
Life stories will be shared, myths corrected, and resources provided to give hope, inspire, and enable a helping hand to be out, proud, and on track whether on campus or in the workplace.
Out To Innovate 2012: Building on Success
- Diversity-inclusive companies and educational institutions will have the opportunity to interview, advise, and recruit LGBT STEM students and early career professionals.
- Participating students—coming from the greater midwest area and other locales —will leave with a better sense of LGBT participation in their chosen STEM careers; find mentorship networking opportunities, and possible employment and career networks.
- Participants will be surveyed for demographics and asked to fill out evaluations on workshop content value. A final report on this pilot project will be generated for the NOGLSTP Board of Directors and sponsor stakeholders. Criteria for future summits in other locales will be evaluated.
- Summit leaders and contributors—individuals, corporations, and governmental agencies—will take away a better sense of the size of the LGBT STEM community and the degree of impact LGBT STEM professionals have in our fields.
- Videos produced from content recorded at the summit will make information on STEM careers for LGBT individuals available on a broad basis through AAAS MySciNet, other internet sites, and downloadable podcasts.
*Cheh, E. and Waidzunas, T., “Engineers Who Happen to Be Gay: Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Studentsʼ Experiences in Engineering” (2009). Proceedings of the 2009 Conference of the American Society for Engineering Education.
**National Organization of Gay and Lesbian Scientists and Technical Professionals. “Career Opportunities for LGBT Science, Engineering, and Technology Graduates: Brighter Than Ever” (2009).
