Hemanshi Galaiya, a 28-year-old student from Kenya studying at the University of Queensland in Australia, has been named among the 50 finalists competing for the 2024 Chegg.org Global Student Prize. The $100,000 top prize goes to outstanding students making profound impacts on learning, lives of their peers, and societies.
Galaiya, a Ph.D. candidate, launched an initiative called Young Stripes to inspire students as early as possible by exposing them to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. It focuses on practical and hands-on science education, coupled with leadership development activities, in order to help young people reach their full potential in the field.
Our program is designed to inspire young people through practical, hands-on science education and leadership incubation, so they can see results in these fields and ultimately reach their full potential,” said Galaiya.
Young Stripes is a program that is also aiding the recently adopted Competency-Based Curriculum, allowing students to major in any of three pathways: STEM, talent, and languages and social sciences. It runs its initiative in various schools, engaging learners as young as four years old.
“Learning by doing” gives students an opportunity to deeply understand scientific concepts and develop real-life competencies in analytical thinking, problem-solving, team working, innovation, and entrepreneurial mindsets. Each of these competencies will be critical in future leaders, whatever field they choose to apply in,” she explained.
Galaiya’s efforts impacted more than 50,000 people around the globe, the majority of whom are young adults across several countries, representing many of her clients coming from multinational organizations and industries. Her initiative is also pushing for gender equality by encouraging more girls to take STEM pathways.
“With a special focus on gender equality, we aim to increase awareness and decrease the stigma associated with STEM pathways and arm young adults with the required skills to raise their personal, academic, and professional profiles,” Galaiya said.
On her way to supporting this, she has managed to enlist passionate STEM leaders hailing from leading universities in Kenya for mentorship, guiding, and advising young audiences from both the public and private sectors.
“I am the first graduate, first engineer, and now first PhD student in my family. In my childhood, I never thought of this. But today, I felt really that all the hard work is all worth it because now I can be a role model that I wanted when growing up. I hope my legacy can keep inspiring girls around the world to believe in themselves and choose STEM fields,” she said.
Describing the nomination as a great honour that encourages her to continue pursuing her initiative with the view of expanding its impact to even more learners, Galaiya said, “Being the only finalist from both Kenya and Australia, which has become my home, I already feel celebrated for the work I am doing for society.”.
The Global Student Prize looks to recognize students who are really making a positive impact on the world, and the competition is open to all students ages 16 years or above at any academic institution.