Sponsored by Ecole Polytechnique

The fast pace of technological advances, from smart cities to cyber-security, means there’s never been a better time to pursue a career in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics). There are plenty of job opportunities for talented graduates in a number of emerging industries, and studying the right degree or specialization at university can give your career prospects a real boost. If you’re not sure what to choose to study, check out these five exciting STEM study areas.

1. Data science

Working as a data scientist, you would be collecting and analysing huge amounts of data, ranging from IP addresses to web logs, to help a business gain a competitive advantage. You could expect to earn up to $125,400 depending on your location and years of experience, according to PayScale. Average salaries tend to be quite high because of a widening talent gap for graduates with big data skills. In fact, there’s a predicted shortage next year of 1.5 million managers and analysts with big data skills in the US. Doing a Master in Data Science for Business will equip you with technological, strategic and business skills and prepare you for data science jobs in the private sector.

2. Environmental energy

Like ecotechnologies, environmental energy is a growing field, with many new opportunities for graduates interested in using their management and technical skills. A report by the International Renewable Energy Agency said we will need to increase renewables to 36 percent of the global energy mix by 2030 to meet our Paris Agreement target of limiting the rise in global temperatures to 2°C. Studying Energy Environment: Science Technology and Management (STEEM) will give you all the expertise in engineering and applied sciences you need to thrive in the sector.

3. Internet of Things

From medical devices to watches, the future is digital, with lots of job opportunities for entrepreneurs, engineers and consultants with a passion for the internet of things. A Master in Internet of Things: Innovation and Management will give you the IoT know-how you need through the lens of law and regulations, management, communications, electronics, software systems and sociology. This particular master’s degree offers an entrepreneurship track, for students interested in joining the latest IoT startup or starting a business after university, as well as a strategic management track for anyone interested in working as an IoT consultant.

4. Smart cities

The largest 300 cities are currently home to 19 percent of the world population and nearly half of the world’s GDP, according to a report by the American think tank Brookings Institution. To accommodate fast rates of urbanization and preserve their environment, many cities need a sustainable economic strategy. If you are interested in math and economics, working with smart cities could be for you. A Master in Smart Cities and Urban Policy would provide you with a high-level understanding of how cities are changing in terms of things like economics, energy, and environmental policy through the lens of research and industry. You would then be expected to move into managerial positions in transportation, energy, environment, real estate and as an economic advisor in local government.

5. Cybersecurity

Stories of corporations being attacked by viruses and malware are constantly in the news with big lumps of money stolen in a single click and infrastructure pirated in a matter of seconds. Working as a cyber security engineer, you could earn up to US$130,800 depending on your location and years of experience, according to PayScale. Studying Cybersecurity: Threats and Defense will inculcate you with the expertise you would need to work in computer security and data protection. Among other things, you would learn how to adapt to new threats and find new defenses every day.

Of course these are just some of the many master’s degrees - all fully taught in English - offered by Ecole Polytechnique, who has been featured in the QS World University Rankings® 2018.

Check out their master’s degrees in Ecotechnologies for Sustainability and Environment Management and Economics, Data Analytics and Corporate Finance.

Sponsored by Concordia University

Despite widespread concerns about the number of women working in STEM fields, recruiting women to STEM programs at university isn’t as much of a struggle as you might assume. In Canada, for instance, the number of women enrolling to STEM courses is growing, with press releases published by the University of British Columbia and the University of Toronto last year revealing record-high numbers of up to 30 percent.

While there are more and more women studying STEM subjects at university, very few of them end up working in STEM-related careers. Indeed, even though the number of women filling in university-level posts has risen to 65 percent since 1991, the proportion of women in scientific jobs requiring a college degree is still at 23 percent, according to official 2016 data. Only 12 percent of Canada’s engineers are women.

In light of these facts, what are the challenges women face when they decide to pursue a STEM education? And what can universities do to encourage more women to remain and thrive in STEM fields? 

We asked PhD student Bettina Forget and assistant professor Layial El-Hadi to weigh in on these questions.

The STEM gender brain drain

Gender bias is pervasive in STEM fields. Women who embark on careers in science often feel isolated, that they need to constantly prove themselves, and are required to fill traditionally female roles in labs and offices. Studies consistently show that these prejudices exist and are even more common for women of color.  

For instance, in a 2014 study endorsed by the University of California, Columbia University and Emory University, all of the sixty female scientists of color they interviewed reported encountering one or more pattern of gender bias at work, including “having to provide more evidence of competence than men in order to be seen as equally competent”, “walking a tightrope between being seen as too feminine to be competent—or too masculine to be likable” and “gender bias triggered by motherhood”.

Layial El-Hadi, an assistant professor at the Centre for Engineering in Society at Concordia University and Program Director of the Graduate Certificate in Innovation Technology and Society, recognizes the issue. She notes that even if there are more women pursuing STEM degrees, they often leave their fields after graduation.

“There seems to be a disconnect. Women students might often be first of their class, but they remain hard to find when we look at the workforce.”

One recent survey found only 12 percent of full professors in STEM in Canada are female, providing students with few female mentors.

Forget, who just started her PhD in art education at Concordia University in Montreal, echoes the experience. She developed an interest in astronomy around 15 years ago, while she was working abroad. “I was struck at how male-dominated the amateur astronomy clubs were,” she recalls. “Parents would often push their daughters my way to talk to me.”

This underrepresentation is quite common in the scientific community. The doctoral student sees this as a fundamental problem. “It’s hard to become interested in a subject when you don’t have any role models to associate with.”

Are women being blocked from careers in STEM?

So, what’s turning women away? One issue is the unconscious bias recruiters often show in female applicants. One study found that science faculty members who were given student applications which were randomly assigned a male or female name felt the application made under a male name was stronger. Another study found that men and women were twice as likely to recruit a man for a role involving math, even if a female candidate possessed identical math skills. It’s no surprise some women would prefer to avoid battling this discrimination and seek employment elsewhere.

El-Hadi believes that globally, we are not moving as fast as we could, mainly because of one thing: mindset.

While her personal approach has been to “bulldoze through the barriers”, she also believes that women need to be more aware of their own power. “We have to learn accountability and ownership of our own success early on as we tackle prejudices against us”.

“The real solution only comes if we start building awareness from a young age – in boys and in girls – on the issues women face professionally and personally,” she adds.

What universities need to do to help 

To tackle these issues, many institutions are taking steps to hire more female STEM faculty members, something both Forget and El-Hadi agree is a step in the right direction- and on that front, intersectionality is key.

In 2016, the proportion of women in full-time engineering faculty posts in Canada was 14.9 percent, a 1.5 percent rise since 2012.

Although this is good news, there’s a long way to go before equality is reached. “There needs to be a serious conversation about the hiring process,” says El-Hadi. “Universities can lead the way by being more inclusive not just in terms of gender, but also in terms of diversity.”

Creating new interdisciplinary playing fields

Other than hiring more women, universities can combat gender-biased practices by creating new research playing fields. This can be achieved, notably, through innovative interdisciplinary approaches.

“Universities are great test beds,” says Forget. “Postgraduate studies encourage you to create projects where categories are dismantled. Labels become irrelevant, whether you are a physicist or a painter, the focus shifts to research and experimentation.”

Now, Forget has returned to her early interest in science and is using her doctoral project to look at how we can disrupt the stereotypes that stop women from entering the STEM fields by fusing art and science. She focuses on the use of collaborative spaces, such as makerspaces, to dissolve those categories.

She is also involved with the Convergence Initiative, which connects Concordia fine arts students with neuroscientists from McGill’s Brain Repair and Integrative Neuroscience Program in order to spark more exchanges between artists and scientists.

“There is still work to be done,” she concludes, “but institutions can facilitate it by helping us break down boundaries, be they rooted in gender or disciplinary stereotypes.”

Concordia University is a comprehensive university located in downtown Montreal, voted 2017 World’s Best Student City.

Image credit © Concordia University

Sponsored by SOAS  

As some first-time business travelers have learned the hard way, business customs don’t always translate overseas. If you’re brokering a deal or readying for a job, insufficient command of business etiquette abroad could cost you and your organization a business opportunity. Fortunately we can help: from the concept of “saving of face” in Asia to handshakes, you might want to avoid common pitfalls when doing business abroad with our top tips.

Gift-giving: the dos and don’ts

The exchange of business gifts is an important ritual in many countries, where they can be seen as a gesture of goodwill, a symbolic way to say “thank you” and cement business relationships. But superstitions and traditions can often muddy the waters for first-time travelers bewildered by the many layers of complexity in another culture.  

Gift-giving etiquette is not the same wherever you go, so take stock of local business traditions before you invest in a hamper. In China, for example, it’s considered poor taste to give clocks, watches, or fours of anything (the number is considered bad luck). If traveling to Malaysia, you’d be better off not wrapping up your gift in the color white (as it symbolizes death) and avoiding alcohol gifts or anything made from pork, particularly if your client is ethnic Malay. Generally, inexpensive gifts from your home country or functional items like pens and office accessories are looked on favorably.

In Singapore, the recipient is expected to decline up to three times before accepting it, while in Chile, gifts are accepted and opened straight away. The concept of “saving face” in Japan might mean that the recipient doesn’t open the gift immediately, but saves it for later, to avoid causing you embarrassment if they open it and don’t like it. Another thing to bear in mind: in some countries, it’s considered the height of rudeness to present or accept a gift with only one hand, so always use both.  

Of course, gift-giving is not a business custom everywhere in the world, particularly in Australia, France, Hungary, Italy, England, Denmark, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan or the United States, where your gift might be misconstrued as a bribe.

Stack the business cards in your favor

Like corporate gifts, business cards are best handed out and accepted with both hands and a slight bow, if possible. In Japan, for example, the exchange of business cards (meishi) is a heavily codified process - not a mere sliding of cards across the conference table. When accepting a business card, treat it with as much care you would your future job prospects, so don’t crumple it by cramming it into a coat pocket.

Behind every successful deal is a culturally-sensitive introduction

Handshakes are not as widespread as you might think. In some countries, they’re much less common, if not avoided altogether. So it might be a good idea to wait for the other person to initiate an introduction, whether it’s a cheek to cheek air-kiss, as is common in Belgium and France, or a slight bow, as might be the case in Japan.  

Of course, different countries favour different levels of formality. In France, for example, when meeting a person for the first time, it’s always a good idea to address him or her as monsieur or madame, introducing yourself with your full name. Always, always, use the plural form of “you” in French (vous) until instructed otherwise by your interlocutor. And remember: if you can’t speak any French, apologize out of courtesy.

Demystify international business practices at SOAS

With a campus in Euston in central London, SOAS attracts students from all over the world, with over 133 nationalities represented on campus. Many of the courses offered by SOAS are angled toward an international perspective. Their MSc in International Management, which can be taken with a focus on either China, Japan, Korea, Japan and Korea, the Middle East and North Africa or South East Asia - with an optional Year Abroad in most cases - will teach you international business strategy and how to manage a transnational corporation. On the MSc, you will gain the specialist skills and know-how you need to take on a leading management role at a multinational operating around the world.