Making STEM more inclusive

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.” 

“Automotive manufacturing requires a very skilled workforce, and the demand for highly trained team members will continue to grow as the vehicles we produce become even more electrified and connected,” said Frank Voss, President, Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada. 

“Ensuring that talent continues to be available in Ontario will require engaging young people in every part of our diverse community and will be a key to keeping our manufacturing sector successful.” 

Educating through activities  

The program travelled to Ontario’s rural and northern areas from Lambton to Simcoe, Renfrew, Nipissing and Sudbury. The team travelled with a toolkit that enabled students to engage onsite in STEM activities that connected with local Indigenous practices. In one of the activities, students used soap, salt, alcohol and mechanical action to extract samples of DNA from strawberries. They then explored and discussed the role of DNA in all living things as well as the importance of strawberries in Indigenous medicine.  

Another activity involved beadwork, which is an art form used to record Indigenous cultural knowledge and agreements, such as wampums. Using a pipe cleaner and two differently coloured beads, including some beads which changed colour when exposed to UV light, each youth created a beaded a snake to represent the binary code’s alphabet of 0’s and 1’s. A guided discussion explored the language of computers, the biology of snakes and an introduction to UV light.  

“One of my favourite parts of being involved with this program was seeing its impact across many different communities,” said Naomi Paul, a Waterloo Engineering PhD student (systems design engineering) and Outreach instructor.  

“With each trip and workshop, we saw students develop interests in areas of STEM that were new to them."

Naomi Paul,  a Waterloo Engineering PhD student (systems design engineering) and Outreach instructor. 

"As an Indigenous student myself, I am very aware of the lack of Indigenous representation in STEM.

"It was incredibly rewarding and encouraging to see how excited the students were to learn that there are people like them working in STEM, that STEM related fields are places for them too.” 

Working with communities 

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. 

“Two of our students who are having a tough time at school responded exceptionally well to the program,” said David Ennis, the director of education at the Kettle and Stony Point First Nation.

David Ennis, the director of education at the Kettle and Stony Point First Nation.

“It reminded all of us that with the right programming, we can really capture our students’ imaginations.

"These two boys alone made it all worth it and I thank everyone involved.” 

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.

But long-term success will not be measured by the number of visits to new students and communities. Rather, it will review the impact of the program’s repeated and regular exposure to as many students as possible as they complete their schooling career.   

Get in touch with Sophie Nasato, Senior Manager, Engineering Outreach at the University of Waterloo, to find out how you can support the Travelling STEM program as a sponsor, co-op student or community partner.  

Read UWaterloo announces tuition waiver for students from two First Nations communities to learn more about the University’s ongoing commitment to making post-secondary education more accessible to Indigenous students. 

Read Waterloo secures OVIN funding for outreach programs to learn how Travelling STEM started through the Regional Future Workforce Program.