Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) at Mcmaster University

What Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) at Mcmaster University does

Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) at McMaster University is a university-affiliated non-profit initiative operating on the McMaster campus in Hamilton, Ontario, that supports, celebrates, and advocates for diversity and equity in science and engineering. Founded in 2013 (with its ANRC conference series running since 2008), WISE serves women and gender-diverse individuals at the high school, undergraduate, graduate, and faculty levels through an integrated set of free programs including a faculty mentorship matching service, a monthly Mentor of the Month luncheon, quarterly town halls, social events, and outreach initiatives such as GenSTEM (for high school students) and the Living Library (under UNESCO). Its flagship offerings are three annual conference brands: ANRC (Annual National Research Conference, now in its 19th year), CREST (Current Research in Engineering, Science & Technology, running since 2013), and GenSTEM (running since 2018), all of which feature workshops, panels, poster presentations, and networking. A Resume Book offering connects community members with recruiters, and the organization maintains a presence across Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and a Discord server.

The initiative operates on a sponsorship-funded, non-commercial model with no fees charged to participants. Revenue consists entirely of sponsorship support from McMaster University entities (Faculty of Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, Alumni Association, Office of the President, VP Research) and partner organizations including CUPE3906, with a disclosed sponsorship period of 2021-2025. It is led by a volunteer executive team of approximately 17 members with annual application cycles, drawing on a mentor roster of 30+ faculty members across departments including Engineering, Biotechnology, Psychology, Biology, Biochemistry, Rehabilitation Sciences, and Medicine. The organization has no proprietary technology products, no AI/ML capabilities, no disclosed revenue or external funding, and its technology stack consists of standard productivity tools (Discord, Eventbrite, Google Forms, Linktree, Wix) used for community engagement and event operations.

Name

Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) at Mcmaster University

Legal name

McMaster Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) Initiative

Website

https://mcmasterwise.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Women in STEM Community Programs

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

akta.pro primary industry

Training, Enablement & Talent Development Summits (THAHAMAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Research & Science Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAI)

Keywords

• Women in STEM
• STEM mentorship programs
• Academic community building
• STEM research conferences
• STEM outreach events

Headquarters

HQ city

Hamilton

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Sponsorships: WISE receives sponsorship support from McMaster University faculties and organizations including Faculty of Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, Alumni Association, Office of the President, VP Research, and CUPE3906. The sponsorship period covers 2021-2025.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

McMaster WISE is a university-affiliated, non-profit community initiative that supports, celebrates, and advocates for diversity and equity in science and engineering through mentorship matching with faculty, annual research conferences, high-school outreach programs, and community-building events. All programs and conferences are provided free of charge to participants and are funded by institutional sponsorships from McMaster University faculties and partner organizations.

Product overview

WISE (Women in Science and Engineering) at McMaster University is an integrated network initiative supporting diversity and equity in STEM. The organization operates as a platform of interconnected programs rather than a single product, offering mentorship matching services (Mentorship Program, Mentor of the Month), annual conferences (ANRC, CREST, GenSTEM), community events (Town Halls, Social Events), outreach programming (Living Library, GenSTEM), and professional development resources (Resume Book, Newsletter). These programs work together to support, celebrate, and advocate for women in science and engineering at McMaster University and in the surrounding Hamilton community.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CREST: Current Research in Engineering, Science & Technology - annual conference featuring research presentations
• ANRC
• GenSTEM
• Mentor of the Month (M&M)

Products and services

• Mentorship Program
• Mentor of the Month (M&M)
• Town Halls
• Annual National Research Conference (ANRC)
• CREST Conference
• GenSTEM Conference
• Social Events
• Living Library Event
• WISE Newsletter
• Resume Book Access

Quantifiable outcome

• Mentorship matching with up to 3 faculty mentors per mentee
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Faculty of Science (McMaster University)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFaculty of Science provides sponsorship and support for WISE initiatives and annual conferences, representing one of the primary academic partners for the women in STEM initiative at McMaster University.
• Faculty of Health Sciences (McMaster University)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFaculty of Health Sciences sponsors WISE programs and activities, supporting diversity and equity initiatives in STEM fields.
• Alumni Association (McMaster University)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMcMaster Alumni Association provides sponsorship support for WISE initiatives and programs.
• Office of the President (McMaster University)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMcMaster University's Office of the President provides institutional support and sponsorship for WISE.
• VP Research (McMaster University)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVice President Research office at McMaster University supports WISE through research and academic partnerships.
• CUPE3906minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCUPE3906 union provides sponsorship support for WISE initiatives as part of their commitment to equity in academia.
• Let's Talk ScienceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMcMaster University's Let's Talk Science volunteers run workshops at GenSTEM conferences, providing hands-on science activities for attendees.
• ARiEAL (Centre for Advanced Research in Experimental & Applied Linguistics)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerARiEAL runs workshops at WISE GenSTEM conferences, contributing to the diverse workshop offerings for students.
• Soapbox ScienceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGraduate students participate in Soapbox Science workshops at GenSTEM, sharing their research with conference attendees.
• Student Success Centre (McMaster University)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStudent Success Centre contributes workshops to ANRC 2026, providing career development resources including career counselling, work permit guidance, and experiential learning opportunities.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Let's Talk Science: Canadian STEM outreach organization that already partners with WISE on GenSTEM workshops — directly comparable youth STEM engagement and outreach mission within Canada.
• Association for Women in Science (AWIS): US-based non-profit advocating for women in STEM via mentorship, networking, and advocacy — directly comparable to WISE's mission and program structure.
• Society of Women Engineers (SWE): Global non-profit advancing women in engineering through mentorship, conferences, and outreach — directly comparable mission to WISE, with a much larger scale and similar program categories (mentorship, annual conference, K-12 outreach).
• WISE at University of Toronto: Sister WISE chapter at a peer Canadian research-intensive university with overlapping programming (mentorship, conferences, outreach) — direct peer in mission, structure, and institutional context.
• Soapbox Science: Public engagement platform that already partners with WISE on GenSTEM workshops — directly comparable women-in-STEM outreach mission and event-driven delivery model.
• 500 Women Scientists: International women-in-STEM advocacy and community organization with chapter-based structure — directly comparable to WISE's community/network model and mission.

Broad incumbents

• Canadian Coalition for Women in Engineering, Science, Trades and Technology (CCWESTT): Canadian umbrella organization advocating for women in STEM with national policy and outreach scope — comparable mission within Canada but operating at an advocacy/policy level above WISE's student-program delivery.
• Girls Who Code: Large US-based non-profit focused on closing the gender gap in technology through clubs, summer programs, and alumni networks — overlapping women-in-STEM mission but operating at significantly larger scale and broader geography.
• anita.b.org: Global non-profit advancing women in computing through communities, events, and awards — comparable mission targeting women in a STEM subset (computing), with broader geographic reach and larger sponsor base.

Regional players

• WiCS (Women in Computer Science) – university chapters: University-based women-in-STEM student organizations primarily in the US — comparable university-chapter community model to WISE, though typically discipline-specific (CS) rather than cross-STEM.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/McMasterWISE
• Facebookfacebook.com/McMasterWISE
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/women-in-science-and-engineering-wise-at-mcmaster-university
• Instagraminstagram.com/mcmasterwise

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) at Mcmaster University