Innoverge Founder, Archika Dogra, started the journey with small steps in her local hometown after combatting her own sense of imposter system in the STEM fields. Disillusioned with the unimaginative curriculum and eerily homogeneous representation in the classroom, she soon realized that her isolating story was just the tip of the iceberg. In an effort to tackle inequity and accessibility close to home, Archika co-founded a local community project bringing free hands-on STEM workshops to youth from underrepresented backgrounds in Bellevue, Washington.
The journey began through 6:00am mornings every Wednesday to co-teach five elementary students at Jubilee REACH, a local community center. While the outreach started locally, the mission of intertwining advocacy, STEM, and service proved to be universal. Three years later, a regional chapter program spanning 26 locations and 8 countries emerged, molding together to share an intersectional vision of combining science and technology with social entrepreneurship and global citizenship. A morning workshop program soon turned into an inspiring network of youth scientists, entrepreneurs, and innovators.
Today, Innoverge embraces the core of the original mission: empathy, humanity, and interconnectedness through equitable STEMxHumanities education. In 2020, former Regional Director Ilana joined to help re-launch the organization as a continuation of previous outreach, building a global youth network placing the crossroads of STEM and the humanities at the forefront through Innoverge STEMx events, curriculum and outreach.
Today at InnoVerge
At Innoverge, our completely youth-led team aims to tackle the vast inequities in STEM education by asking two intertwined questions.
First, how can we empower historically underrepresented youths with the educational programs, resources, and opportunities to thrive in STEM?
Second, how can we capture the intersection STEM and the humanities to create interdisciplinary, empathetic, and impact-driven leaders?
Innoverge’s work amplifies the message that every voice, idea, and story matters. Today and every day, we are endlessly striving to empower young leaders, thinkers, and innovators to use STEM to build a more just, equitable, and kind world.