We have always believed that the people behind STEM deserve to be seen and heard beyond their titles and qualifications. That belief has now taken a new form with the launch of Ask a STEMist, our new video podcast and conversation series featuring African women working across STEM.
We hosted our first session with Dr. Belle Fille Murorunkwere, a Senior Data Scientist at Cenfri, beginning what we hope will become a growing collection of conversations that take audiences beyond the professional profile and into the stories behind the work.
A STEM career can look very straightforward when viewed from the outside: a degree, a job, a research area, and eventually a list of achievements. But the journey between those milestones is rarely that simple. There are decisions, uncertainties, setbacks, opportunities, mentors, changing interests, and lessons that do not appear on a CV.
That is the space we want Ask a STEMist to explore.
Our conversations are designed to ask the questions that help audiences understand not only what a STEM professional does, but how they got there. What first drew them to their field? What did they have to study? What challenges did they encounter? What does their work actually involve? What would they tell someone who is considering a similar path?
We see this as an important part of making STEM careers more relatable. When young people encounter scientists and engineers only through their achievements, it can be difficult to imagine themselves following a similar path. Hearing someone talk honestly about the journey can make that path feel more tangible.
But Ask a STEMist is not only about what audiences gain.
The conversations also provide researchers and other STEM professionals with an opportunity to practise communicating their work with non-specialist audiences. Explaining complex ideas in clear, accessible language is an important professional skill, particularly for researchers who increasingly need to communicate with policymakers, journalists, communities, funders, students, and the wider public.
There is also value for the STEMist in stepping outside the language and frameworks of their specialist field. Being asked to explain why their work matters, what problem it addresses, or how it connects to everyday life can create space for researchers to see their own work from a different perspective and consider its broader relevance to society.
This two-way exchange is important to us. We want to make science more accessible to audiences while also helping scientists become more confident and effective communicators.
The launch of Ask a STEMist builds on our broader work of documenting and amplifying the experiences of African women in STEM. Through our stories, mentorship programmes, and science communication initiatives, we continue to create spaces where women can share their knowledge, navigate their careers, and be recognised for the contributions they make to science and society.
With our first conversation now underway, we look forward to introducing more STEMists, asking better questions, and creating conversations that make science and the people behind it more accessible.
This is just the beginning.