Travel grants which facilitate engineering leadership identity in female engineering students

In this pilot mixed methods study, we examine the impact of travel grants for female undergraduate and graduate engineering students at a large Midwestern university to attend non-technical conferences whose focus is on the development and empowerment of female leaders in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Using a leader identity development framework, we analyzed applications, post- conference attendance surveys, required dissemination projects (i.e., sharing what was learned at the conference with the wider engineering audience at the university) and interview transcripts to examine the impact of this conference experience approach on participants' attitudes towards their anticipated degree and career paths. With an initial sample of 27 participants, preliminary results show a positive impact on professional and personal development, an increased commitment to completing current degree programs, an increase in/reinforcement of confidence in abilities, and inspiration to emulate the women leaders with whom the participants networked at the conference.