Grace Chenxin Liu

Most students think research is something that happens in labs, by experts, after years of preparation. No wonder it feels out of reach. But here's what Grace C. Liu has learned working with thousands of young people worldwide: research is a process. And when we break that process down, it becomes something any student can use to go from "I wish things were different" to "Here are the solutions I'm testing."

In this session (in a keynote or workshop format), Grace introduces a step-by-step framework that transforms students from consumers of others' knowledge into creators of their own. Used by thousands of students worldwide, this approach shows how young people can identify real problems, ask meaningful questions, and translate ideas into impactful solutions.

Questions We’ll Explore

• Why does research feel intimidating? (How can we bust the common misconceptions about research?)
• How can students begin meaningful research without prior experience?
• What happens when learning shifts from consumption to creation?

What Attendees Will Take Home

• A practical, immediately usable framework you can implement in classrooms and programs alike to promote accessible research and innovation
• Real student examples that show what wonders are possible when young people are equipped with the toolbox of research
• The ability to reimagine research as empowering, engaging, and fun (rather than elite, intimidating, or boring)

We've spent decades telling girls they can do STEM, yet women's underrepresentation in STEM leadership remains an issue. Girls need environments where their ideas are taken seriously, their questions aren't dismissed, and their presence doesn't feel like constant negotiation. As someone who has navigated male-dominated, often heavily technical spaces as a young woman and now researches why so many women don't stay in STEM or pursue leadership, Grace C. Liu’s keynote blends lived experience and actionable insight to show how we can move from encouraging girls to stay in STEM to empowering them to lead it.

Questions We’ll Explore

• Why do capable girls still doubt their place in STEM spaces?
• How does belonging shape ambition, risk-taking, and leadership?
• What responsibility do institutions have beyond encouraging participation?

What Attendees Will Take Home

• Practical strategies to identify and interrupt bias in your classroom or program
• Concrete ways to build cultures where girls don't just succeed, but shape the work itself
• Research-backed insight on what actually retains girls in STEM

Most students are discouraged from developing the very skill the future demands most: curiosity. In this provocative keynote, Grace C. Liu challenges the idea that leadership starts with answers and instead shows how the courage to ask better questions unlocks innovation, equity, and impact. Drawing from her experience as a global youth researcher and founder of a UNESCO-endorsed initiative, Grace reveals how curiosity, when cultivated, becomes an essential characteristic for leadership at any age.

Questions We’ll Explore

• Why are so many young people taught to suppress curiosity rather than use it?
• What happens when questions are treated as disruptions instead of doorways?
• How do we turn curiosity into immediate action?

What Attendees Will Take Home

• Reframe curiosity as a leadership and innovation skill
• Learn how questions can drive real-world change and systemic impact
• Leave inspired to cultivate environments where curiosity leads to action

Talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not. Research, innovation, and academic leadership are still gated by privilege. This keynote challenges long-standing assumptions about who gets to participate in knowledge creation and why that matters now more than ever. Grace C. Liu invites educators, leaders, and institutions to rethink how access is designed and how many voices are currently being left out of shaping our future.

Questions We’ll Explore

• Who currently has access to research opportunities, and who's being left out?
• How much innovation do we lose by “gatekeeping” the ability to do research?

What Attendees Will Take Home

• Understand structural barriers that limit participation and innovation
• Learn scalable models that expand access without lowering standards (models that have already been tried and true with 250,000+ students worldwide)
• Gain a renewed vision for equity as a driver of excellence

Too often, young women are taught to wait—for confidence, for credentials, for approval, for “perfection.” This keynote challenges that narrative and reframes leadership and entrepreneurship as tools for agency and positive social change. Grace C. Liu shares how impact can be built without traditional power, resources, or permission, and why starting before you feel “ready” can be one of the best strategies.

Questions We’ll Explore

• What are the key behavioral characteristics that hold women back from pursuing leadership or entrepreneurship opportunities?
• How can entrepreneurship become a form of advocacy for social change?
• What does leadership look like when you’re surrounded by uncertainty, and how can we overcome fears of risks?

What Attendees Will Take Home

• Reframe entrepreneurship as accessible and impact-driven
• Learn how to act boldly amidst uncertainty based on real success stories of young women who built initiatives by overcoming the urge to wait for “perfection” or certainty
• Leave empowered to lead, create, and build without waiting