Jordanian entrepreneur nominated for Global Women’s Mentoring Partnership

AMMAN — Forty-five-year-old Jordanian entrepreneur Lama Sha’sha’a has been nominated for the 2022 Fortune-US Department of State Global Women’s Mentoring Partnership.

The programme is a public-private partnership between Fortune Most Powerful Women, the US Department of State, and Vital Voices Global Partnership. 

According to Sha’sha’a, the programme draws on the expertise of America’s most accomplished leaders to enhance the business and leadership skills of international women professionals.

The mentoring programme will take place in Washington, DC, Florida and New York City from May 8 until May 28, she said.

“As a woman entrepreneur who seeks to create a positive impact on future generations, my nomination has filled me with a strong sense of pride and responsibility towards my home country Jordan and the global community as a whole,” Sha’sha’a told The Jordan Times.

Sha’sha’a expressed her gratitude for the US embassy in Jordan for the nomination and getting identified as an emerging women leader in Jordan.

“I am grateful for getting selected as one of 15 emerging women leaders across 36 countries. I look forward to learning, sharing knowledge, and bringing more value to a re-imagined education in the digital age,” she added.

Sha’sha’a co-founded the International Robotics Academy (IRA) in 2014, which is a private institution that specialises in robotics and STEM education.

“I saw that children’s curiosity and interest in technology could be their motive to learn and create a positive impact. The programmes we roll out focus on building capacities and skills needed in the digital age, targeting students between the ages 6-16 years old, and professional development programme for students 19 and above. I decided to open up the International Robotics Academy from a personal point of view which is empowering children, and making sure they are well equipped for the digital age,” Sha’sha’a said.

Since 2014, the IRA supported schools, educators, parents and students with curriculums and enrichment programmes and opened the stage for children and youth to voice their ideas and pitch their prototypes which focused on solving pressing problems locally and internationally, more importantly all prototypes needed to address at least one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, according to Sha’sha’a.

The IRA served more than 15,000 students in 10 international schools in Jordan, conducting more than 900 courses in the past seven years, Sha’sha’a said

She noted that the IRA is planning on expanding its programmes and services to other countries and service providers, in order to identify pools of talents across the globe, focusing on encouraging girls to engage in creation of technology, robotics and STEM fields. 

Sha’sha’a said that she has been internationally recognised by the US Department of State since 2016 and was selected to participate in the Global Entrepreneurship Summit. 

She was also the silver awardee by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development “Women in Businesses Award” in 2018. 

Sha’sha’a said that her mentor for the Fortune programme, Jacqueline Nevils, Vice President and Chief Information Officer at L3Harris Technologies, a global aerospace and defence technology innovator. 

“Nevils will help me to establish strategic roadmaps and how to leverage both social impact and emerging technologies to provide high value solutions. Lots of preparations have been done virtually with my mentor as well as the mentees on the programme,” Sha’sha’a added. 

 “I have been working with our chief innovation officer to show the wireframe of the solution we are creating, which will benefit students across the globe to be able to track and become more aware of the skills they need to acquire of the digital age,” Sha’sha’a said.