Zuha Ajlan

Shadow A Scientist NPC

shadowascientist.org/

What does your company do?

Shadow A Scientist NPC is a registered nonprofit company committed to empowering young people in STEM through: > Shadowing: following scientists in the lab, seeing the work that they do, what a day in the life looks like > Site visits: Witness first hand what different work environments look like, interact with staff, ask questions on the kind of work they do, the roles of staff and what steps they took to get here. For example: In 2024, we hosted an in-person site visit at the Antibody Immunity Research Unit at the National Institute of Communicable Disease in Johannesburg. With 20 spots available, we had students attend from 7 provinces. > Talks: Whether in-person or virtual, we host career talks in STEM, discussions on the intersection between STEM and other fields, and allow for STEM students to engage in dialogue. For examples: - We hosted an in-person STEM Career Talk at the University of Pretoria on 7th March 2025. Professor Vanessa Steenkamp — Vice Dean of Teaching and Learning — attended as a honourable guest. The venue had a capacity of 30 students but it was filled! - In collaboration with the UCT Science Students Council, we hosted a virtual career talk on 20th March 2025. We had 265 students register and attend. - On 22nd March 2025, we were invited for a STEM Career Day at Reutwile School in Soweto. We engaged with 50 grade 8 and 9 learners who were interested in learning about STEM, how intersectional it is and there’s more than one path. - 5th May 2025, Professor Pedro Tabensky — an ethicist from Rhodes University — had a discussion on What Makes An Ethical Scientist with STEM Graduates. Mentorship: We have created a 6-month long mentorship program with a curated curriculum. We have matched 50 STEM professionals as mentors (64% South African, 26% international) with 80 South African STEM students (mentees). Skillify: Our web-based app (Skillify.shadowascientist.org) has over 150 monthly users. It offers students a platform to access our events, directory of mentors whom they can set an appointment with to discuss any queries they may have, study planners, Science Quizzes, and more! Soon we will be adding free journal article access and job boards too. Research: We create posters with scientific information in layman’s terms to allow general public to understand different scientific (especially health) information.