Engage Nepal with Science aims to spread the culture of engaging with science and the scientific research carried out at Nepali research centres to empower, inspire and build confidence in STEM (Science-Technology-Engineering-Mathematics), with a particular focus on empowering women and girls from underprivileged and rural communities all over Nepal. ENwS believes that STEM empowerment is crucial to promote critical and innovative thinking, which is key to making informed decisions, creating a fairer, more inclusive society and to foster positive social change.
Our Guiding Beliefs
- Science is for everyone.
- Learning by doing builds lasting understanding.
- Local relationships drive lasting impact.
- Global challenges require shared solutions.
- STEM empowerment is essential for equity and informed decision-making.
Our History
After finishing her PhD in 2010, co-founder Alba Abad travelled to Nepal for a career break. She volunteered as an English Teacher in different schools and organisations in Kathmandu. When one of the schools realised she had a PhD in neuroscience, they asked her to deliver some science lessons. Using materials she found in an old cupboard of the school, Alba managed to set up a pilot lab which became a hub to engage students and teachers with science. The impact was powerful, Alba recalls one pupil saying ‘Never thought there were mini-beasts living in this water! We shouldn’t drink it!’ after looking under the microscope at a water droplet from the river nearby.
Alba went on to join the University of Edinburgh to pursue her career in research but she always had her experience in Nepal in the back of her mind. In March 2018, she decided to write to the Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, one of the first non-profit research centres in Nepal, to talk to them about developing a science engagement program in Nepal. Co-founder Prajwal Rajbhandari loved the idea, and Engage Nepal with Science was born.
The team started working remotely to plan the project and establish a network of teachers and researchers, and in 2019 Engage Nepal with Science began to work with Nepali communities.
