New Youth STEM Matters Editor-in Chief Appointed
We’re pleased to announce that Yara Obeidi has been appointed as the next Editor-in-Chief of Youth STEM Matters, our youth-led scientific journal.
As Editor-in-Chief, Yara’s main role will be to develop the journal’s strategy, and lead the team of 70 Youth STEM Matters Volunteers, currently based in 20 countries, to deliver it. It’s a big challenge, but Yara brings significant leadership to the team, having held several leadership positions in national and international non-profits. She is currently improving international development in accordance with the SDGs as one of six Youth Engagement Advisors in Canada on behalf of Cuso International, and previously led 40 team members to organise the largest Relay for Life event in Canada, raising $100K for cancer research.
The 18 year old based in Ontario, Canada, impressed in our selection process with her vision for ensuring the journal can be accessed by young people across the world and gives a platform to an even more diverse set of authors from all walks of life. Her strategic approach will ultimately help Youth STEM Matters thrive in providing our authors with an accessible and high quality opportunity to publish their STEM projects and articles, and ensuring our articles achieve their maximum impact on the SDGs.
When asked about what her thoughts are on her new role, Yara said:
“It’s an incredible opportunity to push both myself and the journal to the best we can be in service of youth globally. There’s definitely a lot of weight on my shoulders, but I’m excited to tackle the challenges ahead and, with help from a wonderful team, get to where we need to be.”
Yara has already shown that she is committed and passionate about our mission here at Youth STEM 2030, having been one of the facilitators of the Social Action Stream at the Youth STEM Summit in November, and as one of the Youth STEM Summit Ambassadors.
Yara joins following inaugural Editor-in-Chief Adam Khan-Qureshi announced towards the end of 2021 that he would be leaving the role, to focus on his current industry placement at AstraZeneca before heading to University of Oxford to undertake a PhD later this year. Having been involved in the journal since the beginning as one of its Co-Founders before becoming Editor-in-Chief, he’s been a big part of the team, and has had a major impact on the success of Youth STEM Matters over the past 2 years. We’re pleased that Adam will continue supporting the journal as a member of the Youth STEM Matters International Advisory Group!
On the appointment of Yara, Youth STEM Matters Co-Founder & former Editor-in-Chief Adam Khan-Qureshi said:
“Throughout the application process Yara demonstrated an excellent vision and eagerness to take the journal to the next level. Yara was clearly passionate about improving our outreach, making the journal more accessible and providing more opportunities for young people globally. I feel very confident leaving the journal with Yara and am fully confident she will excel in the role as Editor-in-Chief.”
He continued, sharing some parting advice:
"My biggest advice would be to take the time to get to know the Youth STEM Matters team; as Editor-in-Chief you get to work with so many incredible people from across the world, and whilst the role has a mentoring aspect to it, you would be surprised by how much you learn from others!"
We’re ecstatic to have welcomed Yara as our new Editor-in-Chief, and can’t wait to see what she does to take the journal in new directions and build upon all that Youth STEM Matters has achieved so far!
Want to get to know Yara? Watch this space for an article from Yara, where she introduces herself, and shares what she’s looking forward to, as well as what she plans to bring to the journal.
