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Naomi Paul, Waterloo Engineering PhD student (Systems Designs) and Travelling STEM instructor. "As an Indigenous student myself, I 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 place for them, too!"
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“Two of our students who are having a tough time at school responded exceptionally well to the program,” said David Ennis, former director of education at the Kettle and Stony Point First Nation."These two boys alone made it all worth it and I thank everyone involved."
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Travelling STEM days always brought laughter. These boys made the most of their building activity and it was a delight to share in their joy.
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Today it's a covered bridge made out of cardboard, tape, straws and modular robotic cubelets --- in a decade or so they could be learning to build real bridges at Waterloo Engineering.
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The Travelling STEM team visited communities in remote and rural areas. It reenforces the need at Waterloo Engineering to ensure Indigenous students from these locations who come to UWaterloo to study, have the welcoming supports in place so they know they belong.
Travelling STEM: Go where the students are
Category
Engagement > Targeted Constituency Engagement
Description
Best of CASE District II Award
Institution: University of Waterloo
Title of entry: Travelling STEM: Go where the students are
About this entry: The Travelling STEM program, launched by the University of Waterloo's Faculty of Engineering Outreach in July 2023, is a community outreach initiative aimed at Indigenous youth in Ontario. Funded in part by the Ontario government and in partnership with Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada, the program seeks to inspire interest in STEM fields among Indigenous students from kindergarten to grade 11, addressing their underrepresentation in higher education and STEM areas. During its pilot phase, the program visited 11 Indigenous communities, conducting 17 workshops and engaging with 276 students.
This program is a strategic initiative designed to engage Indigenous youth with STEM education. By bringing workshops directly to Indigenous communities, it seeks to bridge the accessibility gap in STEM learning. This aligns with the Faculty's broader goals to decolonize the campus and support the principles of the Truth and Reconciliation Report, by fostering inclusivity and diversity in education. The program not only introduces Indigenous students to STEM but also integrates cultural respect and understanding, contributing to a more inclusive and equitable educational environment. Spanning July-September 2023, engineering co-op students, led by an Engineering PhD candidate who is also Indigenous, we obtained permission from Indigenous communities to design culturally appropriate STEM activities and offer them (free) to students. The objective is not to recruit students for Waterloo Engineering, but instead to inspire and encourage them to pursue STEM activities. However, we are undertaking longitudinal tracking to see if Travelling STEM does lead to more Indigenous students choosing engineering at Waterloo.