University of Toronto’s WISC Builds the Next Generation of Female Students in STEM

With the transition to a virtual world, students have been faced with an overwhelming amount of screen time and Zoom fatigue. To prevent this in students, University of Toronto’s WISC (Women in Science & Computing) have focused on long-term projects that will support over 300 women in STEM. These projects include a podcast that features women doing amazing things, exec takeovers on social media, and an International Women’s Day celebration that will elevate community stories.

To carry out these initiatives, WISC has weekly meetings for their 17-member organizing team. Vaneezeh Siddiqui, the President and Founder of WISC, utilized Glimpse to facilitate communication between people who don’t work together often. Glimpse is a platform that rotates people through one-on-one, time boxed calls with fun icebreakers, games, and a photo-booth. “It was great to have people that work on different projects get together,” said Siddiqui.

By implementing Glimpse, it was easier to find an organic sense of communication amongst members that wasn’t forced. “It was a refreshing break from our normal pop-corn style updates and ending the meeting,” Siddiqui said. Through these one-on-one conversations, WISC built a greater sense of community among its organizing team.