YOUTH-FOCUSED PROGRAMING

Young people are at the heart of social justice and social change and play a pivotal role in communities here in Nova Scotia, Canada, and around the world. Coady Institute provides knowledge-sharing, experiential learning, and education to support the aspirations of youth leaders as they seek opportunities and rise to challenges such as enhancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and decolonization; building a sustainable environment; and strengthening local economies. We have developed a wide range of youth programs that offer learning opportunities for young leaders to develop their capacity for citizen action towards a more just world.

Pathy Foundation Fellowship

The Fellowship is an intensive 12-month opportunity for graduating students from five partner universities (Bishop’s, McGill, uOttawa, Queen’s, and StFX) who have an existing meaningful connection with a community anywhere in the world and an innovative initiative idea to strengthen that community. Fellows are provided with comprehensive training, dedicated ongoing support, and up to $40,000 to make a sustainable impact in their chosen community and to support their growth as active and effective leaders and changemakers.

The Wallace Family Internships

A 12-week paid internship for StFX students to develop an entrepreneurial idea. The 12 weeks includes: working with a faculty mentor, group workshops (focusing on business skill sets), and one-on-one mentorship. The internship uniquely offers an experiential learning experience for StFX students encouraging them to take risks and expand their networks in a safe environment.

StFX DiscoverBox Sandbox

StFX DiscoverBox is part of the Nova Scotia Sandbox Program funded by the Province of Nova Scotia with an aim to bring multidisciplinary teams together from across StFX campus to develop innovation in our communities. The program enhances innovation capacities through human design thinking principles.

Nova Scotia Youth-Focused Community of Practice for Career Development Practitioners (YF-CoP)

The YF-CoP, made up of 130 members from 50+ organizations, runs from September to April each year. This year’s YF-CoP saw 20 to 40 practitioners gather each month for in depth conversations about supporting newcomer youth, the future of work, human rights, and more.

John T. Sears Internship

The John T. Sears Chair in Corporate Social Responsibility in the StFX Gerald Schwartz School of Business facilitates student participation in community enterprise or community development programming within the Coady Institute.

Youth Engagement Framework

In December 2022, CEI launched a Youth Engagement Framework informed by 80+ youth and employers that offers tools, recommendations, and resources for organizations looking to better support youth in the work they do.

Internships

Coady Institute’s summer internship program continues to support post-secondary students to strengthen their research and engagement capacities and provide opportunities for them to present at local and national conferences. The CEI hosted nine summer interns from May to August 2022, and support an additional nine summer research grants (in partnership with STFX Research Services) for StFX students. Summer interns and researchers worked on a wide range of topics related to career and employment best-practices and emergent learnings, and presented their findings at the CEI’s second annual Nova Scotia Career and Employment Student Symposium August 16 to 17, 2022 alongside other students from across the province.

Collective Impact for Inclusive Youth Employment (CIIYE)

This CEI initiative launched in early 2022 alongside partners from the Province of Nova Scotia’s Department of Labour, Skills, and Immigration, the Native Council of Nova Scotia, Nova Scotia Works – Opportunity Place, and other community and industry partners. The purpose of the CIIYE initiative is to increase the labour force participation of young people (ages 18 to 34) from equity-deserving communities across Nova Scotia. This two-year initiative will provide 20+ participating young people with access to meaningful work, wrap around supports, mentorship, peer support, leadership development, and provide participating employers with access to talented new employees, a network of peers, ongoing support, and training opportunities to create more welcoming and inclusive workplaces.