In April this year, the University of Waterloo’s Faculty of Engineering Outreach team launched a free community outreach program called Travelling STEM.
Over the summer, the pilot program visited Indigenous communities across Ontario to share exciting STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) possibilities with youth from kindergarten to grade 11 in their home communities.
Funded by the Ontario government through the Regional Future Workforce Program of the Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network (OVIN) and in partnership with industry partner Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada, the Travelling STEM program is specifically designed to reach Indigenous youth, who are currently underrepresented as students in STEM fields at the post-secondary level, to help ensure that they are included in Canada’s technological future.
Supported by a team of five co-op students and two full-time staff members, the program visited 11 Indigenous communities and engaged with 276 students over 17 workshops in July and August.
“Currently, Indigenous youth are greatly underrepresented in higher education, particularly in STEM,” said Mary Robinson, Waterloo Engineering’s associate dean of outreach, equity and diversity. “The Travelling STEM program is one way for us to encourage Indigenous youths’ ongoing interest in post-secondary education pathways.”
To get the Travelling STEM program on the road, the Waterloo Engineering Outreach team reached out to First Nations Band Offices across the province. Local guidance was vital to ensure the program aligned with the communities’ needs. There is no cost involved for the communities, but they were asked to provide space for the workshops and help ignite interest in the program among parents and students. Where relevant, communities made room for the program to fit into an existing summer youth program of their own.
On the back of a successful pilot run, the Outreach team has plans to expand the Travelling STEM program into more of Ontario’s remote and rural communities.
Go to Making STEM more inclusive for the full story.