APDC distinguishes Native Scientists with the Women Shaping Tech Award
The Women Shaping Tech Award will enable Native Scientists to expand its Same Home Town (SHT) programme to four municipalities in Portugal’s interior.
APDC – Digital Business Community recognised Native Scientists with the Women Shaping Tech Award . The jury’s decision was unanimous, with all members voting in favour of the SHT programme. The award recognises projects that inspire women to enter Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields and support their participation, retention, and progression. The distinction highlights the SHT programme’s contribution to women’s representation in science, given that around 70% of the scientists involved are women.
The award ceremony took place on 22 October 2026, at the Pavilion of Knowledge – Ciência Viva Centre in Lisbon. Native Scientists was represented by Catarina Miranda, Communications Lead.
This recognition will enable Native Scientists to implement its SHT programme in the municipalities of Guarda, Mêda, Trancoso, and Aguiar da Beira, in Portugal’s Guarda district, thanks to the €10,000 prize.
The four municipalities are located in Portugal’s interior, where geographical distance from major urban and scientific centres can limit children’s access to educational opportunities beyond the classroom. By bringing scientists into local schools, the SHT programme helps reduce inequalities in access to science and broadens children’s perceptions of who can become a scientist.
“Bringing scientists into these four municipalities can make a real difference,” said Catarina Miranda. “Particularly in places where children don’t have access to a science centre, to science museums and other science engagement opportunities. Meeting someone who grew up in the same environment as they did can give children the opportunity to see themselves reflected in this person.”
This recognition will complement the programme’s implementation in other municipalities in Guarda district, such as Almeida, Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo, Pinhel, Sabugal, and Vila Nova de Foz Côa, already planned through other funding sources. Together, these initiatives will make it possible for children across the region to meet, interact with, and learn from a scientist with local roots.
Native Scientists is grateful for this recognition and for the support behind its work. “Having the importance of our work recognised, and knowing that there are people who support what we do fills our hearts with joy,” Catarina Miranda added.
Apply to participate in the SHT programme
If you are a scientist whose former primary school is located in Guarda, Mêda, Trancoso or Aguiar da Beira, and you would like to return to your hometown to lead a science intervention for current students, we invite you to apply here to participate in the Same Home Town programme.
About Native Scientists
Founded in 2013, Native Scientists is an award-winning, pan-European non-profit organisation connecting children and scientists in underserved communities. It exists to broaden children's horizons through meaningful science education, promoting scientific literacy and reducing inequalities.
About the Women Shaping Tech Award
The Women Shaping Tech Award is an initiative by APDC – Digital Business Community, a non-profit public-benefit association that recognises initiatives contributing to increased participation of girls and women in STEM. The award follows a collaborative model in which companies committed to diversity and inclusion contribute to a common fund that supports and raises the visibility of selected projects. The selection process draws on a mapping of existing STEM initiatives in Portugal conducted by STEM Women Congress Portugal. The 2026 edition is the second edition of the award.
