Open STEM: Bridging Technology, Society, & Inclusive Innovation - Canada-India Insights

In this webinar, speakers from Canada and India will draw from their expertise and experience to reflect on lessons learned, ongoing challenges, and opportunities for institutional transformation in STEM and its role in the betterment of society. By bringing together diverse perspectives from Canada and India, this discussion-based webinar will foster dialogue across academic and global contexts, highlighting shared learning and opportunities for collaboration. 

This event is hosted by the Canada India Research Centre for Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), University of Guelph, and organized in collaboration with the STEM the Gap initiative at IIT Delhi, India.

The event is for 60 minutes on Monday, September 24 at 10:30 AM EST and 8:00 PM IST.

Speakers

From the StemTheGap Team, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, India 

STEMtheGap is a research-driven initiative highlighting the story of women in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) in India. Using a three-pronged means of research, policy, and practice, the STEMtheGap seeks to analyze and fill gaps in opportunities for women and girls in STEM.

Taanya Kapoor is a Principal Project Scientist in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at IIT Delhi, where she works on STEM the Gap, a Co-Impact Gender Fund project examining barriers faced by women in STEM, particularly engineering, across India's elite institutions using a life-cycle approach. Her research interests lie at the intersection of gender, class, and state-society relations.

She has recently completed her DPhil in International Development at the University of Oxford. Her doctoral research explored the contradictions of modern daughterhood in middle- and upper middle-class India, examining persistent son preference and the subtle forms of gender discrimination against daughters within affluent, educated families. Using the concept of "good daughterhood" as an analytical lens, her work highlights the limits of social change and continuity in contemporary urban India.

Previously, Taanya has worked as a researcher on gender-based violence with the GendV project hosted at the University of Cambridge, and has consulted extensively on gender, public policy, and social change with organisations such as UNFPA and the Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi, India.

Abhilasha Sinha is a Consultant with STEMtheGap at IIT Delhi, where she works at the intersection of gender, leadership, and institutional transformation in STEM. Her work spans mentorship, inclusive infrastructure, public data systems, and the design of practical tools and frameworks to help institutions advance gender equity.

Beyond STEMtheGap, Abhilasha is the Founder of Inner Stack, a coaching and advisory practice focused on helping individuals and organizations navigate change and critical inflection points. She is an alumna of Harvard Business School and IIT Delhi, an ICF-certified coach, and has worked across the public, private, and social sectors.

From the University of Guelph, College of Engineering

Julie Vale is a faculty member in the Department of Interdisciplinary Engineering at the University of Guelph and an engineering education researcher. She received her Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Waterloo and joined Guelph in 2012. She has held multiple academic leadership roles, including Associate Director, Undergraduate Studies (Engineering), and is a fellow of the Canadian Engineering Education Association and a University of Guelph Teaching Leadership Fellow.

A trained systems and control theorist, Dr. Vale’s current research focuses on the role of student mindsets in engineering education. She investigates how empathy, social justice, and socio-technical thinking impact values-based learning outcomes and influence how engineers understand and engage with their responsibilities to society. Her work advances approaches to engineering education that foreground the social dimensions of engineering practice.

Moderator

From the University of Guelph, Department of Food Science

Lawrence Goodridge is a food microbiologist whose research focuses on the detection, characterization, and control of foodborne pathogens to improve food safety and public health. His work integrates molecular biology, genomics, bioinformatics, and microbiome science to develop innovative approaches for the rapid identification and tracking of bacterial contaminants across the food production chain. Dr. Goodridge is also the Director of the Canadian Research Institute for Food Safety and holds the Canada Research Chair in Foodborne Pathogen Dyanmics.

Dr. Goodridge has demonstrated commitment to the advancement and inclusion of Black and racialized scientists in STEM, primarily through his work with the President’s Advisory Committee on Anti-Racism, which developed the University of Guelph's Anti-Racism Action Plan.