Frequently Asked Questions Corporate WIHP™ Award Sponsorship WIHP™ Internship Awards Institutional Selection Process General Inquiries

Corporate WIHP™ Award Sponsorship

Innovara believes that the best way for women to excel in the fields of science, medicine, mathematics and engineering is to train and build on mentoring experiences with leaders in these disciplines.  Internships, preceptorships, and fellowships are all effective ways of giving an advantage to cultivate such mentoring opportunities and may make a critical difference when applying for jobs, grants, or advanced education. 

Periodically, Innovara organizes an international meeting of the top female executives, chiefs of medicine and directors involved in the life sciences, including those in academic medicine and research, pharmaceutical, biotechnological, and other health care fields called Women In High Places™ (WIHP™).  Innovara invites all WIHP members’ companies to provide grant funding for short-term (e.g. summer) internships for undergraduate women.  These internships will be awarded to at least ten nationally and internationally recognized colleges, universities and hospitals that are considered leaders in various areas of science, engineering, mathematics, and medical research.  Each WIHP™ Award offers a chance for an academically outstanding female student to be accorded a semester or summer internship in one of these leading schools or institutions, ideally working in an area of research that will help to advance a specific field of medicine, science, etc.  These internships should be regarded as an avenue to help young women with leadership potential to be encouraged to pursue a career in science, engineering, mathematics and medicine.The WIHP™ Award minimum donation amount to Innovara is $2000 per intern.  Innovara will designate the institution and work with the institution to select the department, faculty member mentor and field of concentration for the internship.  $1500 of this donation will go directly to the institution to be administered according to the following criteria:

• At least $1000 should be awarded to a female undergraduate or graduate student to study or conduct research in one of the designated fields and/or institutions. The student should be chosen by the faculty of the institution based upon her proven academic and scientific, research or other excellence and the potential for academic and/or institutional leadership.
• Up to $500 may be used to defray direct expenses incurred by the mentor and institution asociated with supporting the intern, e.g. for computer equipment or software, lab supplies, transportation, communications, etc.

There are over ten institutions or schools that initially have been selected already by a panel of WIHP members for the WHIP™ Award Program.  If a company chooses to support an internship, but cannot decide which field or institute it would like, Innovara encourages it to nominate a new one, as may be appropriate.  The WIHP Internship award program will also encourage intra-institutional research (i.e., a Smith College student may choose to intern at MD Anderson).  Innovara will help facilitate this intra-institutional exchange, if requested, free of charge.

If a company or individual would like to provide a grant to help support a WIHP™ Award, please contact Innovara.  We will notify the institution and keep the grant funder informed of the recipient’s selection of an intern and the intern’s progress. All participating institutions will be contacted for receipt and acknowledgement of the awards, and will advise Innovara of their choice of recipient.  At the end of the internship, the intern will be required to report on her progress and results of the internship.  Innovara will continue to monitor the progress of the intern for as long as is feasible and permitted by the intern.

For for further information, please contact Innovara via our inquiries form or by contacting Koren Berrio, WIHP Executive Coordinator.

WIHP™ and Women in High Places™ are trademarks and intellectual property of Innovara, Inc.   All rights reserved, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008.