CLASS ON WHEELS: Kingston and the Islands MP Mark Gerretsen and local grade-school students try their hand at some engineering design and robotics experiments in the Queen’s Tech ‘n’ Tinker trailer, a mobile classroom operated by the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science. (University Communications)
Queen’s Engineering Outreach team teaches digital skills The program has received new CanCode funding to support visits to local schools and First Nations communities
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ocal youth and schools will continue to benefit from digital literacy and computational thinking workshops supported with technology offered through Queen’s, thanks to a recent federal government funding announcement. Actua, a Canadian charity focused on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education among youth, received the largest amount of funding under CanCode, an initiative of the Canadian Ministry of Innovation, Science, and Economic Development. As a member of the Actua network, Queen’s Engineering Outreach will receive $247,000 over 18 months. On hand to celebrate the funding announcement on February 26 were representatives from Actua and Kingston and the Islands MP Mark Gerretsen.
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THE COMPLETE ENGINEER
“CanCode is our government’s down payment on Canada’s future,” says Mr. Gerretsen. “This program will help ensure more young Canadians of all backgrounds have the right skills for the jobs of the future. Coding and digital literacy will be the bedrock of future jobs and further study in high-demand STEM fields.” The funds will be used to provide free workshops to grade-school students to help them build their digital skills, and expose them to technologies such as coding and robotics. The workshops are offered multiple times per week across the greater Kingston area, and the funding will support programming through to the summer of 2019. “On behalf of Queen’s, we thank Actua and the federal government for this funding, which will benefit thousands of students in our area,” says Scott
Compeau, Outreach Lead with the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science. “This funding will allow us to continue to partner not only with local schools but also with First Nations communities to engage students in science, technology, engineering, and math-related learning activities,”adds Melanie Howard, Director of Queen’s Aboriginal Access to Engineering program. For more information about Queen’s Engineering Outreach, visit queensconnections.ca.
