Obama Scholars Series, STEM Education and Empowerment

Imane Berchane

Co-Founder, Robots & More; Co-Founder, LOOP for Science & Technology

Imane Berchane is a tech social entrepreneur and STEM advocate working to advance gender and social equality across Africa. Leveraging her private education technology business and nonprofit organization, Imane aims to provide underserved students with future-proof skills through access to STEM education. She has partnered with Morocco’s Ministry of Education and international sponsors to introduce STEM programs to over 180 schools, train 500 teachers, and increase girls’ participation in STEM education programs to over 50%. Despite reaching over 21,000 people, Imane’s organizations continue to face high demand for this program, and she is seeking this opportunity through the Scholars program to reformulate their vision and strategy, explore new funding models, and foster new partnerships to deepen their reach in existing communities and expand their interventions across the African region, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burkina Faso, and Côte d’Ivoire.

Alex Magu

Founder & Executive Director, STEM Impact Center Kenya

Alex Magu is the founder and executive director of STEM Impact Center Kenya, a youth development organization working to enhance equitable access to STEM education by supporting education policy reforms, teacher training, and improving STEM education for girls and marginalized communities. With his organization’s track record of impacting over 10,000 students and 500 teachers yearly through capacity building and tailored boot camps in rural and low-income areas, they bridge the gap between education and workforce readiness by strengthening students’ 21st century skills. Leveraging this success, they provide advisory support to the Ministry of Education, particularly in implementing Kenya's new competence-based education curriculum. Through the Scholars program, Alex hopes to cement his role in leading cross-sectoral engagement, finding new ways to effectively connect government stakeholders with educators to drive education policy improvements in Kenya.

Joséphine Goube

Founder and CEO, Sistech

Joséphine Goube is the CEO of Sistech, an organization that supports refugee women with access to gainful employment in the technology sector. Grounded by the belief that a democracy is measured by how it treats its most vulnerable citizens, Joséphine aims to accelerate economic inclusion and citizenship rights for refugee communities for a more inclusive democracy. Over 700 women have moved through Sistech’s programs in France, Italy, and Greece, receiving digital skills training such as data analysis, cybersecurity, and web development, with 70% successfully obtaining jobs in tech. Through this work, Joséphine has collected stories of impact on the integration of these women into the job market and has used this as a proven model to advise on more inclusive migrant policies at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, European Commission, and French Parliament. Josephine is seeking to strengthen her advocacy skills to enact regional policy change and gain theoretical knowledge through the Scholars program to scale Sistech’s work across Europe and shift the narrative on refugees in the region.