STEM sidebyside program – FAQs

Q. Who is eligible to apply?

A. The inclusive veski inspiring women STEM sidebyside program in 2023 provides equitable opportunities for individuals who:

• identify as a woman or as non-binary (updated 25 May 2023);
• are a full-time or a part-time [at least 0.6 FTE] employee in a STEM sector at the closing date for applications (5.00pm on Monday, 12 June 2023);
• work within Academia, Industry, Government, or the Not for Profit sector and if employed in…
  • Academia – … have at least 10 years of Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) post-PhD with demonstrated leadership experience in STEM fields;
    OR
  • Industry, Government, or the Not for Profit sector – … have at least 8 years of Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) post-primary degree with 5 or more years of general management experience (i.e. business unit, line or function management incorporating knowledge of P&L management, strategic planning and people leadership) in STEM fields;
• have Australian citizenship or permanent residency; and
• have ensured a financial co-contribution of $1500 +GST will be provided by their current employer should their application be successful.

Q. What does post-primary degree mean?

A.  Applicants from Industry, Government or the Not for Profit sector must have at least 8 years of Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) post-primary degree, which refers to all the roles held in STEM fields following your undergraduate degree.

Please feel free to contact veski if you would like to have a confidential conversation regarding your individual circumstance.

Q. Can I apply if I am currently on Maternity leave?

A. If you are currently on Maternity leave, and meet all the eligibility criteria then you are welcome to apply – provided you are able to attend all sessions as scheduled.

Q. How is the applicant’s personal information going to be used?

A. This inclusive program aims to provide equitable access to opportunities for women and non-binary in STEM.  We would like to assure you that information we are seeking from applicants and employer organisations is directly for this purpose. Information that may help provide evidence for the need of this program or similar in future, may be reported to program partners, but specific and identifiable information will not be made publicly available or be disclosed to any other external party without your consent, unless required or authorized by law.

If you wish to alter any of the personal information you provide to veski, please send an email to [email protected].

In developing this program, the team at veski has been mindful of sensitivities around the language we use and how we request information from you.  We recognise we don’t have it 100% right and sincerely hope we have not caused you any offense. If you have the time and energy we would welcome your feedback on how we can make our programs more inclusive.

Please direct any comments or suggestions on how we might look to improve any of the veski programs via [email protected].

Q. What is the responsibility of the applicant’s primary employer?

A. The primary employer of the applicant is responsible for providing a financial co-contribution of $1,500 +GST in the event that you are successful in being competitively selected for the veski inspiring women STEM sidebyside program in 2023.

Q. I need to calculate my FTE (Full Time Equivalent) and convert this to years and months worked.  How do I calculate this?

A. We require you to complete the attached Calculate my FTE template and upload the excel worksheet on the Employment Details tab within the Application form.

You are only required to provide the commencement date and end date of your roles held (Academia: Post PhD; Industry, Government and the Not for Profit sector: post primary degree) and select the FTE for each role using a dropdown menu. The excel worksheet will automatically convert this to years and months worked to help you determine your eligibility for the program.

Note: If in a single role, you have worked at different FTEs, we request you to complete the table taking them into account.

The calculation on the excel worksheet encompasses the following steps:

Calculate your contracted hours per week;
FTE uses the following measurements:
1 day = 0.2 FTE
2 days = 0.4 FTE
3 days = 0.6 FTE
4 Days = 0.8 FTE
5 days = 1 FTE

Take your FTE and multiply by the number of months you worked at that FTE
This example illustrates a year worked at various FTE’s:

0.8 FTE for 4 months = 0.8 x 4 = 3.2 months
0.6 FTE for 6 months = 0.6 x 6 = 3.6 months
1 FTE for 2 months = 1 x 2 = 2 months
TOTAL = 3.2 + 3.6 + 2 = 8.8 months

Q. What can I include as my career disruptions in my FTE calculations?

A.  A career disruption can include, but not be limited to: a maternity break; caring responsibilities; and relocation down time.

Please feel free to contact veski if you would like to have a confidential conversation regarding your individual circumstance.

Q.  Can I use the ARC‘s method to calculate career breaks i.e. 2 years for each child?

A. We do NOT use the same system, as the ARC, to calculate career breaks, instead we request that you calculate the time you have taken off for career breaks and subtract this from the actual time.