There will be nine sessions between June 2024 and February 2025. The first session will last for 2 hours, and the eight other sessions are 90 minutes.

Additionally, you will be in charge of organizing and facilitating one of your group sessions. This will require about 30 to 60 minutes of preparation. You can use the guidance, templates, and suggested activities provided by AWTC.

Every so often, you will be asked to come prepared with some reflection exercises that may take about 30 minutes.

We also encourage you to informally be in contact with your group between sessions, via Slack or any other way the group decides to be in touch.

The goal is to allow members to confidentially support each other, build and share their professional roadmaps, and bring their unique challenges to problem-solve together. Groups are composed of AWTC members at different career stages and in different roles and functions.

The group is co-creating the experience and bringing their key topics to share with the group. Templates that include ice-breakers, suggested topics, reflection exercises, case studies, and professional/personal challenges will be available.

There are two  types of sessions:

- Facilitator-led: The first two sessions and the new year’s session will be led by a facilitator who, will guide the meeting. As the groups get to know each other, expect the content to be driven by the group. This is a place to bring your challenges, tough questions, and discuss ideas to advance professionally.

- Peer-to peer groups: The bulk of the sessions will be peer-to-peer groups. A general structure will be provided by the facilitator. We will also ask that each member from the group be in charge of facilitating, planning, and scheduling one group meeting. A sign-up form and more details will be provided.

Yes, for this pilot, all sessions are virtual. Stay tuned for more information and instruction once your group is formed.

Show up, be fully present, and participate with your camera on. We expect you to engage in the community, and respect and support your other participants and coach. Between sessions, you will be able to communicate with your fellow participants through the AWTC slack channel or however the group decides they want to stay in touch.

The idea of the small group experience is core to our mission and what makes AWTC special. We are investing in professional support to ensure a thoughtful, structured, and well-organized program. The fee offsets the costs to administer, build, and maintain the program.

Because AWTC wants to make this program accessible to women at all career stages, scholarships are available to offset $150 toward the program. Note: you do not need to apply for an AWTC Scholarship separately for this program.

Need a scholarship? Simply indicate "Yes" to the scholarship question while filling out your application.

You’ll receive a confirmation email that you have applied. Small groups will be formed based on preferred meeting times and, when possible, a mix of job levels and functions.

Timeline

- The deadline for submitting an application is May 24, 2024

- Applicants will notified if they have been placed into a small group by June 7, 2024. If you are placed into a small group, the fee is $200 and a scholarship for $150 is available.

- Your first small group meeting will occur between June 17 and July 27, 2024.

Because this is a pilot program, placement is random; however, we will try to accommodate preferred meeting times and create a mix of job levels and functions. Following the pilot, we will be looking to hear from you about any suggestions you have for future groupings.

We will do our best to avoid placing people from competing companies or from the same company in the same group. Please keep in mind that the pilot only has 24 participants, and we are also accommodating preferred times to meet.

About a week after you’re assigned to your group, we’ll email you the details of the date and time of your first meeting and coordinate dates of future meetings.

There is no need to prepare anything for the first meeting. Please be present for the entire meeting, eliminate distractions, and participate. The goal of the first meeting will be to get to know your small group members and learn about each other. We’ll also review community agreements and the plan for future sessions.

As you build your professional roadmap, some reflection and light preparation may be required to help you get the most out each session. Additionally, plan for peer-facilitated sessions where group members take turns organizing the group, based on a general structure and facilitation guide template. So, you will be responsible for organizing and facilitating one session for your group. AWTC will offer easy-to-follow templates, guidance, and suggested activities.

During the second session, the AWTC facilitator will walk through facilitation guide templates, ideas for icebreakers, and answer questions. This is also a safe space to experiment with support from your group and push yourself out of your comfort zone.

We encourage you to continue connecting once the pilot is over. AWTC will also send out a survey to assess how the pilot went and if you are interested in continuing to participate in your small group.

If you have questions or want to learn more, join the Small Group Experiences channel on AWTC's Slack. You can also email us at info@awtc.tech.