Mind Over Matter: Yes You Can

How does mind over matter work?

Over 30 years ago, #CarolDweck and her colleagues became interested in students' attitudes about failure. They noticed that some students rebounded while other students were devastated by even the smallest setbacks.

After studying the behavior of 1000’s of children, Dr. Dweck coined the terms #fixedmindset and #growthmindset to describe the underlying beliefs people have about learning and intelligence.

When students believe they can get smarter, they understand that effort makes them stronger. Therefore they put in extra time and effort, and that leads to higher achievement.

Recent advances in #neuroscience have also shown us that the brain is far more malleable than we ever knew, and that with practice, neural networks can grow new connections, strengthen existing ones, and increase our neural growth by the actions we take, such as using good strategies, asking questions, practicing, and following good nutrition and sleep habits.👍🏽

Research has also demonstrated the link between mindsets and achievement.

It turns out, if you believe your brain can grow, you behave differently. 🙋🏻‍♀️🧠

Which means you can indeed change your mindset from fixed to growth, and when you do, it leads to increased motivation and achievement.

Make this week a YES YOU CAN week :)

Teenage anxiety is an epidemic. Why?

We hang out with and hear from lots of teenagers, and what keeps coming up is that anxiety is an epidemic right now.😬😞

In fact it’s estimated that worldwide up to 20% of teenagers experience anxiety, and in Australia alone one in 14 young Australians (6.9%) aged 4-17 have experienced an anxiety disorder - equivalent to about 278,000 young people.

Social media pressure?

Technology?

More complicated lives?

Nutrition?

There are many theories as to why. .

If you, or someone you know is experiencing anxiety, getting help is the best first step anyone can make.
The second is to try and take tiny steps every day to ground yourself.

Try this little 5-step practice above and see how you go.
1️⃣2️⃣3️⃣4️⃣5️⃣ 🙏🏼

#youarenotyourface READ MORE HERE.
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Welcome to the future.

🔟 things you should know about where technology is taking us.

The #internetofthings is transforming and connecting the world around us at an exponential rate with billions of new devices connecting each year. (IoT is the network of physical devices, vehicles, and buildings embedded with electronics, software, sensors, and actuators designed to communicate with users as well as other devices.) Here’s what you can expect in the IoT galaxy we’re in very soon: .

1️⃣ 3D printed makeup. Just insert a person’s face and the machine will apply the exact makeup pattern requested by the user.

2️⃣ 3D printed replacement teeth, printed inside the mouth.

3️⃣ Swarmbot drone printing systems used to produce large buildings and physical structures, working 24/7 until they’re rapidly completed.

4️⃣ Sensor-laced, enviro-responsive clothing scanned and custom-printed instore.

5️⃣ Smart plates, bowls and cups to keep track of what we eat and drink.

6️⃣ Ingestible data collectors, filled with sensors, to give daily internal health scans and reports, plus hyper-personalized, precision-based pharmaceuticals produced by 3D pill printers.

7️⃣ Self-retrieving shoes where you call them by name through your smartphone, and your shoes will come to you.

8️⃣ Scan and print custom-designed clothing at retail clothing stores.

9️⃣ Physical and psychological therapy done through #virtualreality.

🔟 Implanted 'mind mesh' creating AI and human cognitive interface so we can communicate data and with each other wirelessly, and store our memories in the cloud. #blackmirror .

For more on this and to dive deeper see @google's Top Rated futurist Thomas Frey at www.futuristspeaker.com

girledworld Cofounder Edwina Kolomanski shares her story at Melbourne Town Hall event with Lord Mayor Sally Capp

Our Cofounder + COO Edwina Kolomanski will share the girledworld story, startup journey and her career and study pathways at the Melbourne Town Hall this Friday August 2, as part of the The University of Melbourne Young Alumni Cocktails + Conversations series.

Edwina will take the stage alongside Lord Mayor of Melbourne Sally Capp and CEO + Cofounder of Allume Energy Cameron Knox.

In case you didn't know it, Edwina is a serial entrepreneur and university student!, who has a Bachelor of Media and Communications, a Master of Entrepreneurship (First Class Honours) from the The University of Melbourne on scholarship, studied as a Visiting International Student at Columbia University in the City of New York, and is currently completing a Juris Doctor on scholarship Monash University, where she was awarded a Monash Global Discovery Scholarship in 2018 for her demonstrated commitment to innovation.

We don't know how she does it! But she does. Every day.

More info on event below or via this link.

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UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE YOUNG ALUMNI COCKTAILS + CONVERSATIONS
Friday August 2, 2019 7.00pm-10.00pm
Melbourne Town Hall, Swanston Room

What does the Melbourne of the future have in store for you?

The world is changing rapidly. The drivers of change are many and include trends such as the rise of entrepreneurship, business technology, and consumer expectations around sustainability. So how will these drivers influence our city? And how will you be best placed to take advantage of the opportunities these changes will bring?

Join our key note speaker Lord Mayor Sally Capp as she gives her take on the future of doing business in the City of Melbourne. She will be joined by two young alumni guests who will give their unique perspective as young business owners.

Following formalities, you will be able to continue the conversation with your young alumni network over refreshing cocktails and delicious canapes. If you would like to kick-on further, the Business and Economics Young Alumni Committee will be hosting an after-party in the city.

MEET THE EVENT SPEAKERS

Lord Mayor Sally Capp, BCom, LLB(Hons)1991

Sally Capp was elected Lord Mayor of Melbourne in May 2018 and was the first woman to be directly elected as Lord Mayor. Sally was also the first woman to hold the post of Agent-General for Victoria in the UK, Europe and Israel. She has also served as the CEO for the Committee for Melbourne and COO of the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.   Sally began her career as a Solicitor, after completing Law (Hons) and Commerce degrees at the University of Melbourne. Sally has held senior roles at both KPMG and ANZ, and she took the small business she co- founded to the ASX. Most recently she was Victorian Executive Director of the Property Council of Australia. A passionate Magpies supporter, in 2004 Sally made history as the first female board member of Collingwood FC. She is involved in a number of charities, currently sitting on the board of the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute, the Mary Jane Lewis Scholarship Foundation and the Melbourne University Faculty of Business and Economics. Sally is also Honorary Patron of the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation, Trustee of the Shrine of Remembrance, Member of the Council of Capital City Lord Mayors, Patron of the Royal Victorian Association of Honorary Justices, Patron of the Royal Women’s Hospital Foundation and Victorian Honorary Vice President of the Australia-Britain Society (Victoria) Inc.

Cameron Knox, BSc 2016, DipLang 2016

Cameron is the CEO & Co-Founder of Allume Energy, a Melbourne based start-up aimed at making solar affordable and accessible for apartment residents. Since its inception in 2015 Allume have grown to 12 employees, secured over $2M in contracted revenue, signed customers in 2 continents and attracted over $2.5M in investment. Allume are an alumni of the UniMelb affiliated Melbourne Accelerator Program. Cameron is a graduate of a Bachelor of Science at the University of Melbourne and juggles his role at Allume with a part time Masters of Mechatronics.

Edwina Kolomanski, MEnt 2016, BA 2012

Edwina is Cofounder of Australian education startup Girledworld, with the mission of upskilling, equipping and inspiring the next generation of female leaders, entrepreneurs and STEM champions.

In response to a lack of gender diversity in future-facing industries such as STEM and startup, Girledworld deliver large scale World of Work events for high school girls, educators and parents, design in-school career and Future of Work employability programs and partner with schools, industry and governments to better support young women in the critical years of career decision making. 

Edwina has a Bachelor of Media and Communications and Master of Entrepreneurship (First Class Hons) from the University of Melbourne on scholarship, studied as a Visiting International Student at Columbia University’s Barnard College in New York and is currently completing a Juris Doctor at Monash University, where she was awarded a Monash Global Discovery Scholarship in 2018 for her demonstrated commitment to Innovation. 

All event details here.

How do we prepare today's students for tomorrow's workforce?

A recent future of jobs report by the @worldeconomicforum shows that the Fourth Industrial Revolution is currently interacting with multiple socio-economic and demographic factors to create a perfect storm of business model change in all industries, resulting in major disruptions to traditional labour and employment markets.

New categories of jobs are emerging, partly or wholly displacing others, and the skill sets required in both old and new occupations is changing in most industries and transforming how, where and why people work.

What is clear is that given the #futureofwork is radically reshaping itself, today’s students are preparing for an uncertain tomorrow where #technology, #automation and #globalisation are driving a new marketplace, requiring new skill sets, mindsets and employment capabilities.

That’s why @girledworld we’re working with high schools all over Australia in 2019 delivering #FutureOfWork 21st Century Career Workshops!💡

Our workshops, led by #girledworld co-founders and expert #innovation facilitators, allow students to be inspired, expand their knowledge and upskill in 21st Century, #entrepreneurship #innovation #teamwork and #STEM capabilities through real world, industry-backed learning contexts so they’re ready and equipped for tomorrow’s world of work, today.

To find out more about our workshops click here.

Embrace your inner freak. You Are Not Your Face FINAL SUBMISSIONS CALL OUT! Teenage writers we're talking to you!

Embrace your inner freak. #youarenotyourface
FINAL DAYS! Submit your story!

If you’re a TEENAGE GIRL and would like to contribute your story to the #girledworld #youarenotyourface project CLICK HERE!

We’ve received 1000’s of AMAZING stories, poetry and writing from teenage girls across the planet 🌏 and we’d love to add your voice to the mix!

Massive and heartfelt THANK YOU to all the amazing girls who have contributed their words and wisdom so far! We can’t wait to share it all VERY SOON! in a phenomenal book for teenage girls!! 🙌🏽💛🌍
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Submissions (first name, age and country only) will be published on the @girledworld platform and selected entries will be published in ‘You Are Not Your Face’ (scheduled for release in late 2019).📓

SUBMIT ENTRIES HERE 🔝🔝🔝

Gorgeous words in picture via @mattzhaig 🙏🏼

girledworld joins Vivid Sydney to chat the Future Of Work with DropBox, CommBank and NewCo

Artificial intelligence, robotics and digital platforms are changing the way we learn, communicate and work. Australians must continuously innovate to stay relevant, or risk being left behind.

Join us to hear from four of the NewCo festival’s most inspiring business leaders; Shani Langi - Partner & Managing Director of Usual Suspects Creative, Madeleine Grummet - Co-Founder and CEO of GirledWorld, Heath Brown - Executive Manager at CommBank Innovation Labs and Deeps De Silva - Head of Marketing for Asia-Pacific and Japan at Dropbox, as they dissect the future of work, and share the business practices and life hacks that can help keep you ahead of the game. 

NewCo festival was founded in San Francisco by John Battelle (founder of WIRED) and has run in 18 cities around the world with over 2,500 businesses involved to date. 

NewCo is a Silicon Valley-born inside-out festival that opens the office doors to the most innovative and purpose-driven businesses where business leaders demonstrate what they are doing to evolve, adapt, make an impact and generate positive change. 

At the 2017 Sydney and Melbourne festivals, over 600 attendees visit 80 host companies including the likes of Uber, Amazon Web Services, Girledworld, Airtasker, Seven Network, KPMG, LinkedIn, WeWork, Fishburners, Pandora Internet Radio, Lendlease, Lonely Planet, University of Technology, The School of Life, Time Out, Bellroy, The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, The Big Issue and more.

Please join us in Sydney for Vivid, NewCo on Thursday May 31, 2018.

BOOK TICKETS HERE

girledworld joins Pause Fest 2018 to chat The New School Rules: Driving Innovation in Education

Join girledworld at Pause Fest 2018 chatting The New School Rules: Driving Innovation in Education with girledworld, Girl Geek Academy, The Hacker Exchange and Deakin Spark.

How can traditional education institutions prepare students to thrive in our fast-moving world?

Real students and education innovators will gather to debate and discuss their views on education trends and what skills students really need, and want, in today’s evolving market with Sarah Moran, Co-Founder and CEO Girl Geek Academy, Madeleine Grummet, Co-Founder and CEO girledworld, Jeanetter Cheah, Co-Founder and CSO The Hacker Exchange, and Daizy Mann, Program Manager SPARK Deakin.

ABOUT PAUSE FEST

Pause is Australasia's premier creative, tech and business event.

A catalyst for change, a uniter of all industries, and a platform for the future, Pause brings the world’s foremost thought leaders like Airbnb, NASA, Netflix, Hyperloop, Fast Company, Girls in Tech, This American Life, SXSW, Pixar and Lucasfilm together with local heroes, for one unforgettably action-packed event.

Book your tickets here and join us to 'Network like a pro, Upskill like a boss, Marvel like a kid, and Future like you want! @PauseFest @FedSquare #Pause2018. 

Corporate Australia needs to ditch old processes and 'org-hack' itself to keep up with Silicon Valley

This article was first published in Business Insider Australia, October 12 2017.

If Australia wants to compete with global innovators, corporate culture needs to change.

GirledWorld co-founders Madeleine Grummet and Edwina Kolomanski want to equip the next innovation generation of female leaders, founders and STEM experts with the enterprise skills, and access to female business role models they’ll need to excel in the future of work.

Grummet told Business Insider that GirledWorld focuses on embedding purpose across everything they do, and building a startup culture that fosters creativity and human-centred design.

“We’ve worked and studied across the US, Asia and Europe over our career lifetimes, and it’s interesting to compare the cultural dictates of those economies,” Grummet said.

“What is clear is that comparatively, Australia’s corporate culture is inherently conservative and currently bound by legacy processes, hierarchies and systems that actually impede innovation.

“In the context of a data-driven knowledge economy, the advent of exponential technologies, rapid communication and a fragmenting marketplace, it’s clear that corporates will need to embrace change, employ human-centered design to put the customer at the heart of their business model, and embed purpose in their culture if they are going to survive.”

If you compare Australia to the Silicon Valley start-up scene, for example, Grummet said the companies there have an intense focus on being scalable, 'scrappy', agile and adaptable to change – driven either by the consumer, the marketplace or the technology.

“In that environment of rapid value shift, traditional industries and companies simply have to adapt to survive and this is driven by startups,” Grummet said.

“So companies and corporate cultures over there are actively trying to org-hack themselves to stay agile, redefine their purpose and drive intentional innovation.”

Grummet recently returned from a trip to the Valley, where she participated in deep-dives in innovation labs with the likes of Google, Airbnb, Twitter, Tesla, Silicon Valley Robotics and Singularity University.

Unfortunately, changing your culture is not something Australian businesses can just “copy and paste” from Silicon Valley, Grummet explained.

“In order to stay globally competitive and locally relevant, we must create and nurture our own culture within a start-up ecosystem that drives net job creation for Australia’s future economy.”

In the next 12 months, Grummet says girledworld's focus will be on three things: building an entrepreneurially minded team, scaling to reach more girls across Australia with a digital platform and continuing to embed purpose across their business to deliver on their mission.

“Five years from now we would like to have a multi-national team working within an operating culture that is diverse, positive, purpose-fuelled and that lives by its values, providing active mentorship and future career pathways to girls.”

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Join girledworld, Google, The Australian Futures Project and Blackbird Ventures at NAB 23/11.

GirledWorld Co-founders Madeleine Grummet and Edwina Kolomanski are members of the NewCo Advisory Council, and will be presenting at the Melbourne NewCo Festival on Thursday November 23 at NAB's The Hall in Melbourne. For tickets book here.

The Panel Event entitled 'Redefine the Workplace Paradigm: How to get women to stay, lead and succeed', will feature guest presentations and girledworld Co-Founders in conversation with Sally Ann Williams, Engineering Community & Outreach Program Manager, Google, Ralph Ashton, Co-Founder, Australian Futures Project and #WTFAustralia, and Nick Crocker, Partner, Blackbird Ventures. Tickets here. (Event details below and full NewCo Melbourne schedule here.)

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NewCo Melbourne: Redefine the Workplace Paradigm: How to get women to stay, lead and succeed brought to you by girledworld.

girledworld will explore the third gender revolution as we unpack diversity as an innovation driver, hear from experts about purpose-driven female leadership, and smash up workplace status quo and unconscious biases. Join us to build your toolkit on how to drive cultural transition in a positive, sustainable way, and how to create connection between industry and education to build the female pipeline of future innovators, leaders and founders.

NewCo is a festival of innovation and inspiration where mission-driven companies invite you inside their offices to share stories of positive change.

Business Insider Australia is the proud media partner of NewCo Melbourne, which kicks off on 22 November. Get your tickets and see the full schedule at www.mel.newco.co

Bringing up businesses and babies: Why women need mentors to make it work

As a working female who knows all too well the pace and juggle of balancing the needs of four busy daughters with the mid-career portfolio demands of building a startup, speaking engagements, active mentoring and board directorships, time is the core currency I trade in these days.

There are only so many hours in any given day, and the opportunity cost of time ill-spent down an email black hole or in zero-outcome meetings mean I've become more binary about how I will and won't spend my business time.

I choose to work with people and on projects that align to my purpose, and that solve for problems that really matter. It means the work can dial up and down as the projects demand, and it also means I therefore have to know when to flick the switch to family.

But like many women of my generation raising businesses and babies, finding true balance can be a challenge.

Sometimes the mix is just right, other times all wrong. You wing it anyway, and remind yourself that balance isn't static, and life is a continuum of change within which we chart our course, adjusting sails along the way where we need to. Some days are rough and tough, others blue-skied and calm watered (personally and professionally).

But in the mix of busy, I have, and always will, carve out time for mentorship. Because bringing up businesses and babies is not an easy juggle, and to make it work I have relied on the active mentorship of generous, intelligent women to help me navigate the way.

Because I have lived the benefit of having other women empower and mentor me, I believe in paying it forward. Daily, I still draw on the power and knowledge well of my collective circle to stay afloat, accelerate my opportunities and make strategic career choices. In fact some of the best business decisions I've made were shaped with mentors.

Sheryl Sandberg’s 2013 book Lean In: Women, Work and the Will To Lead has a dedicated chapter called Are You My Mentor? and in it she explores the idea of mentorship, and how to find the right mentors for your personal and professional stage.

Some of her key points about mentorship are that at its best it must be:

1.  AUTHENTIC: Healthy and effective business relationships take time to nurture and develop, and most often arise organically from real human connections where there is inherent mentor/mentee chemistry, authenticity and generosity. Find mentors who understand who you are, what your values, vision and purpose are, and who will then bring people into your network who share this, too.

2.  RECIPROCAL: Mentorship cuts both ways, and provides both parties with the opportunity for growth, transfer of knowledge, personal learning and professional extension. The mentor can sharpen and shape their leadership style through mentee feedback, and the mentee can also provide “grassroots intelligence” on industry insights, market intel and internal culture (access the mentor would not otherwise gain). In turn mentors can push you to your limits, challenge your thinking, strategically connect you to key stakeholders, champion your cause and actively market you and your business to amplify your message/vision.

3.  ACTIONABLE: Mentors and mentees must commit to progress, and measurable outcomes. In order for both parties to benefit most from the relationship, mentees must create actions around advice dispensed, embed key learnings, and then circle this back into the learning loop with mentors.

4.   AUTONOMOUS: Great mentors don’t cut the path but light the way. The greatest learning for mentees is learning by doing, even if it means failing and floundering a few times before charting the right path. Taking autonomous steps but knowing you have someone to bounce off when the going gets hard can be just the support you need to realise your potential and better achieve your goals.

Some of the most successful women I know have attributed active networking and mentoring to their success, saying that by putting themselves out there, finding their tribe and building a trusted group of people around them, they have achieved far more than could ever have done on their own.

If you’ve been thinking about becoming a mentor or seeking active mentorship as a mentee, there are now multiple organisations, digital platforms and online communities offering professional and personal coaching services if you’d like a hand to get started rather than reach out to your existing networks. Everwise, Mentorloop, Inspiring Rare Birds, Business Chicks and Mogul are just a few.

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SHE MENTORS - SUMMER NETWORKING PARTY

Inspire9, Richmond, Wednesday November 1, 6.00pm-8.00pm

Alternatively, if you’re in Melbourne and would like to connect in the real with a room full of female business women from all walks of life, register for the She Mentors Summer Networking Party at Inspire9 in Richmond on Wednesday November 1 6.00pm-8.00pm, and join me alongside Gemma Lloyd of Diverse City Careers as part of a She Mentors event celebrating female mentorship and the power of networking.

Lloyd is the co-founder of DCC Jobs, Company Secretary of the Diversity Practitioners Association (DPA), winner of the Sue Wickenden 2016 Entrepreneur Of The Year Award and has served on multiple not-for-profit Boards including IT Queensland Females in and Technology and Telecommunications (FITT).

In this event Lloyd will share her journey at the helm of DCC Jobs, where she has been campaigning for flexible working conditions for women, and regularly presenting on topics including diversity and inclusion, entrepreneurship, developing confidence for career success, and personal branding strategies, so will have a wealth of knowledge to impart to the audience.

DCC is a social enterprise helping women pursue rewarding careers, particularly in sectors with high gender inequality rates. Since its conception, DCC has grown rapidly and is now regarded as one of Australia’s leading authorities on gender diversity.

The DCC jobs board is Australia’s only exclusive jobs board, meaning employers must be pre-qualified before advertising to ensure a strong focus on diversity and inclusion. DCC were winners of the 2016 #techdiversity awards and finalists in the 2015 ARN Women in ICT Awards in the Innovation category.

I’ll also be sharing my story and some of the thrills and spills as a social entrepreneur, Mum, mentor and co-founder of girledworld.

Mainly, I’ll be chatting about how I’ve charted my career path around businesses and babies, built connections and communities along the way, and what I’ve learned from mentors and other extraordinary business women in my network.

There’ll be plenty of time for Q&A and networking afterwards, so we can all share stories, forge new connections and learn from each other.

I look forward to seeing some of you there.

Madeleine Grummet
Co-Founder & CEO girledworld

She Mentors Summer Networking Party.
Bookings here.

How to teach girls Design Thinking - girledworld Summit 2017

At girledworld we get a little bit excited about innovation, ignition of ideas and problem solving. It’s why we train in and keep a hand on Design Thinking, Lean Startup, agile and anything that keeps us moving, questioning, pivoting and coming up with awesome ideas to solve the wicked problems of the world.

So we’re super excited to have education consultant and design thinking facilitator Kirsty Costa from Cool Australia joining us for the girledworld Big Ideas Leadership Summit 2017 to get hundreds of secondary school aged girls immersed in a Design Thinking workshop on Saturday June 24!

Design thinking helps us create, analyse and rebuild products and ideas. It can also be used to find creative solutions to big problems, and in this experiential workshop, participants will experience and apply each step of design thinking – from immersion to prototyping – as they work in teams to solve a live world environmental problem: the shrinking habitat of marine turtles and how Design Thinking can be used to create a prototype solution to protect their endangered nests.

Costa started out as a primary teacher, became an award-winning education consultant and now is the Head of Professional Development at Cool Australia, enabling more than 65,000 teachers to connect their lessons to the world outside the classroom every day.

Costa was awarded the 2013 Victorian Environmental and Sustainability Educator of the Year and trained by Al Gore as a Climate Reality Leader in 2014. In recent years she has helped hundreds of organisations and individuals carry out exciting change projects across Australia, and worked on global environmental initiatives with Greenpeace Japan and Oxfam Community Aid Abroad.

We can’t wait for Kirsty Costa to bring her expertise, energy, turtles and big thinking to the girledworld Big Ideas Leadership Summit 2017.

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Please join us alongside some of Australia and the world's most remarkable business leaders, startup founders and STEM champions to up-skill the next generation of girls in leadership, innovation and enterprise.

girledworld Big Ideas Leadership SUMMIT 2017.

Saturday June 24 & Sunday June 25

University of Melbourne @unimelb

Wade Institute of Entrepreneurship @wadeinstitute

#stepup #startup #STEM

TICKETS ON SALE NOW!

Why STEM Matters to Girls.

We wish we could candy coat the stats but the numbers just aren't moving - women and girls remain grossly underrepresented in #STEM fields, and according to a recent Australian Government National Innovation and Science Agenda Report only one in four IT graduates and fewer than one in 10 engineering graduates are women.

Further, women occupy fewer than one in five senior positions in Australian universities and research institutes, and represent just one quarter of the STEM workforce overall.

This is a critical problem. Why?

Because STEM matters.

It matters because to secure Australia’s future economy, we need STEM to drive innovation, so we desperately need girls to step up to STEM, to grow their tech skillsets and mindsets, and to equip themselves for the future of work.

This will take a concerted, national effort as there are multiple cultural, institutional and organisational barriers that discourage girls and women from studying STEM, and that limit their opportunities to pursue careers in this space.

We need a movement. And it will take time.

But a big part of this is actually showing girls what they can be.

STEM role models matter. 
Girls can't be what they can't see. 
And don't know what they don't know.

So we need more STEM role models inspiring girls, science teachers, educators, media, entrepreneurs, executives, manufacturers, editors and policy-makers so more girls start to select into the mix.

This is what will start to sweeten the numbers. 💓

At Girledworld we're honoured to have the support and expertise of amazing female STEM mentors talking to and teaching girls STEM, and showing them some of the great careers built on STEM.

You can learn, meet and have the chance to chat with them at the girledworld SUMMIT at the University of Melbourne's Wade Institute the weekend of June 24/25.

Be inspired by global and local leaders in tech, deep dive coding, hear from extraordinary STEM leaders about how they started, and push your career thinking to reimagine what you and your daughters can do to embrace STEM and equip yourselves for the future of work.

Join us to make the change.

GIRLEDWORLD SUMMIT
A life-changing event for girls/Mums/Teachers/Mentors ✖️✖️
EARLY BIRD TICKETS ON-SALE NOW!! 
Get in quick before they're gone!
See you there!

The Experience Age - a night at PwC as a STARTUP

This week the team at girledworld paid a visit to the new PwC (Price Waterhouse Coopers) offices located in Southbank, Melbourne, for The Experiences Event.

With 360 degrees of the city, the new state of the art office facilities filled with open plan offices, technology and collaborative spaces were an enviable setting, which provided the perfect backdrop to begin discussions about the future of big business in Australia.

To begin the evening, we were invited to select three of following perspectives: 

1. Student experience: Going digital to raise the bar on student employability
2. Connected Retail Experience: Maximising the engagement of tomorrow's customer in a connected retail world
3. Employee experience: How creative communications is changing the employee experience
4. Solving wicked problems: Co-designing solutions to wicked problems in an experience-led world
5. When data is the difference: Three ways to use data to reduce cost and engage your customers
6. Cyber Security: Security by design
7. Disruption: Swimming against the tide - Disruption in established organisations incorporating a Blockchain case study
8. Government: Solving big problems and rebuilding trust in Government

We selected the following perspectives and here's our biggest take-aways from each: 

1. Student experience: Going digital to raise the bar on student employability

• Given the way that students (at both secondary and tertiary levels) interact with one another, technology needs to be at the core of key communication strategies
• Understand what the outcome of tertiary education is --> employability 
• When designing curriculum, ensure that the end goal (of employability) is always engineered into the educational framework. Students must be skilled and ready for employment 
• STUDENTS are educational institution's CUSTOMERS

3. Employee experience: How creative communications is changing the employee experience

• Internal communications within companies continues to be under-utilised and under-valued
• Storytelling is the most effective way to communicate KEY information. This can come in many forms including storybooks, one page posters, in-office interactive technology displays
• Digital communication tools do not completely replace traditional communication media (i.e. paper materials)

4. Solving wicked problems: Co-designing solutions to wicked problems in an experience-led world

• Human-centred design approaches are now becoming more "mainstream" 
• Ensure that diversity is at the core of the design process - bring the right people into the design process 
• Understand the PROBLEM that you are trying to solve 
• Co-creation leads to a deeper connection, higher engagement and ownership of solutions 

Following the live perspectives, a panel presentation included the following: 

• Airbnb Australia & New Zealand Country Manager, Sam McDonagh

• Telstra Group Chief Technology Officer and previous Ericsson Australia and New Zealand CEO,  Hakan Eriksson

• NSW Treasury Director and previous EGM Strategy, Education and External Relations at SunSuper, Andrea Forbes

• Previous Executive General Manager of Channel Ten and PwC's current lead of our Chief Marketing Officer Advisory, Russel Howcroft

• Commonwealth Bank National Director of Health, Caitlin Wilson

The all-star panel including representatives from Airbnb, CBA, Telstra, NSW Treasury and PwC

The panel discussion largely focused around discussions of innovation (integrating innovation projects into large companies), technology (like 5G and drones), disruption and addressing national problems of the future (like health industry and the ageing population of Australia).

From a start-up perspective, it was fascinating to see the discomfort and struggle that large corporations are experiencing in relation to the broader market which is being rapidly disrupted by innovation, technology and startups! The future is going to be vastly different to the past and present. That's why we need to ensure the next generation is prepared and skilled accordingly with the soft and hard enterprise skillsets to adapt to this rapid change.

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At girledworld we're constantly seeking new information and checking in with industry to ensure our eduTech resources and experiences for Australian girls are relevant and in-tune with the employment landscape of the future. We are developing world-leading educational experiences for Australian girls, so that they have the resource and skill-sets to succeed in the future of work - whatever that looks like!

If you have any suggestions regarding resources, events or initiatives you think we should be aware of please don't hesitate to get in touch with us at hello@girledworld.com  - we're always up for a great conversation! 

A year on: The unexpected learnings from Entrepreneurial Education

It’s a year this week that Madeleine and I met for the first time.

We were two in a cohort of almost 20 students, all about to start a year-long Masters program at the University of Melbourne’s Wade Institute of Entrepreneurship.

Adding to usual first-day nerves, there was another layer of anxiety shared amongst us as this was a brand new course, curriculum, faculty and with a building that wasn’t quite finished yet.

Before this first week I had never heard of lean, agile or a business model canvas and it turns out I had no real understanding of entrepreneurship. I’d heard of Branson, Jobs, Gates … but that was pretty much it!

This past year I have been on a completely unexpected learning curve.

Yes, I’ve learnt a lot about business, innovation and the world of Silicon Valley but the most profound learnings are applicable to much more than just entrepreneurship…

Here are some of the highlights:

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1. Find your person

You hear people encouraging you to “find your tribe” quite a lot and, I must admit, I cringe a little when I hear that saying.

But I do think that finding people who energise, encourage, challenge and support you is so, so, so important.

What is misleading about “finding your tribe” is that it makes it seem like you need to find a whole group of like-minded people when, really, all you need is just one person.

I feel extremely fortunate to have turned up at the Wade Institute at the same time as Madeleine. We’re the same and different in many ways but every time we talk (which is a lot these days) I feel inspired and energised, with the belief that we can do whatever we put our minds and efforts to.

We laugh a lot. We have meaningful conversations. We have many shared values. And most importantly we listen to and empower one another. 

Entrepreneurship can be a very lonely road at times so make sure you’re on the journey with the right people. 

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2. Learn to love learning

Before my Masters I never thought that I liked learning. Scarred from undergraduate degrees that required endless prac reports and essay after essay, at my first graduation ceremony I vowed that I would never go back.

Ha! It took me just under three years to break that promise and I was enrolled in a post-graduate degree.

So what was different this time around?

By the time I turned up to do my Masters I’d already seen the inside of three different organisations. Some things I liked, some I didn’t. But what really struck me was in some work environments, continuous learning wasn’t a thing. You learnt your place, your job and that was it. If you weren’t surrounded by curious people, you could easily stop learning right then and there.

I never thought that this was an issue until I found myself desperate to acquire new skills, seek new information and self-educate outside of working hours. I didn't want to admit it but I missed learning.  

Entrepreneurial education has taught me to scan, read, gather information from any reliable source. From reading case study after case study, I’ve seen how little bits of information can drive big change and innovation. You need to keep your eyes and ears open for information all the time - you never know when the dots might connect on something amazing!

Amusingly now, I’m dabbling with the ol’ PHD idea ... but give it a few years at least!

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3. Just start

Put your hand up if you’re highly self critical *typing pauses as I raise my hand*

It can be so hard to judge your performance. Expectations are unrealistic. Nothing is ever good enough.

It can be easy to be in a constant state of ideating and planning without ever actioning anything.

This is fear.

You need to move past it. 

My message to those reading is to simply start. Whether it be entrepreneurship or something completely unrelated, just start and see where it takes you.

A year ago that’s exactly what we did and we haven’t looked back. We’ve had a year of learnings, new friends, connections, inside jokes and a whole lot of memories!

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4. Be kind to yourself

During our last semester stress levels were high. After a presentation, one of our professors came up to me to see how I was feeling. We’d spent weeks and many late nights preparing for this presentation and in hindsight it was pretty good! But being the hypercritical personality that I am I was immediately looking for all the weaknesses and areas of improvement in our performance.

After a few minutes of drilling questions to our professor like “What do we need to do differently next time?” and “How can we improve the value proposition of our pitch?” he stopped me and said:

“You are one of the most self-critical people that I have met in more than a decade of teaching university students. Today was good. The work was good. You’ve put a lot of effort into this. Be kinder to yourself and the work that you have produced. Yes - you can always improve but everything is ok. ”

Wait. What? You're not supposed to know that I’m self-critical - you’re just supposed to think that I’m a smart, hard-working student.

Yet this little bit of insight and feedback made me start to really think about the way that I treat myself.

And it isn't just limited to your professional life. My best friend recently told me a piece of advice.

She said:

“You need to talk to yourself the same way that you would talk to me or any of our friends. The next time that self-critical voice starts drilling you, just stop and imagine me. Would you say the same thing to my face?”

We’re so kind and encouraging to our friends but so quick to criticise ourselves.

I haven't mastered this one yet but I’m learning to be more mindful when the self-critic in me comes out to play!

Yes, be nice to others but BE NICER TO YOURSELF!

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It's amazing what a difference a year can make.

Here's to another year of new friends, learnings and memories in the making!

- E xx