Earlier this month, Google Canada donated $1.5-million to Actua, a national network of colleges and universities that delivers STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) programming at the Univeristy of Waterloo and other institutions to more than 225,000 young people. Over the next three years, Actua’s Google-funded Codemakers project will offer hands-on computer science experiences, including fundamentals of coding, to more than 100,000 students in workshops and camps.
A Globe and Mail article entitled Why tech giants are investing in STEM programs for students highlights Waterloo Engineering's outreach initiatives, including a weekly after-school program to build and program
The article includes an interview with Martin Scherer, manager of outreach activities for Waterloo Engineering, which runs the Lego program and other Engineering Science Quest youth projects with the Faculty of Science. “I want these kids to have a better understanding of computer science and how it is all around them, and not to be scared with tinkering with a computer or doing more than surf the Web,” Scherer says.