This year, 杏吧原创 University鈥檚 award-winning social impact organization Virtual Ventures (VV) was named winner of the  2024 Award for Excellence.

The Actua Award for Excellence recognizes network members who exemplify annual excellence in unlocking potential for youth and removing barriers in STEM.

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A dream and a team of four engineering students.

That鈥檚 what it took to start Virtual Ventures, the award-winning not-for-profit organization run under 杏吧原创 University鈥檚 Faculty of Engineering and Design. This year, we鈥檙e celebrating the organization鈥檚 30th anniversary, and are reflecting on the past three decades of accomplishments.  

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On November 18, Virtual Ventures hosted its third Power Up event as part of Actua鈥檚 Revving Up Diversity in the Automotive Sector project at the Museum of Science and Technology in Ottawa. This event engaged high school youth with an immersive exploration of electric vehicles (EVs) and sustainable energy.

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Programs like the Leadership in STEM Club to help students explore their interests and gain real-world experience that can help them make informed decisions about their futures.

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From July 11-21, Actua and its network member Virtual Ventures at 杏吧原创 University is delivering the Mashkikiikaagen Indigenous Youth in STEM (InSTEM) Land Summit, which brings together Indigenous high-school youth and educators in a culturally relevant, for-credit learning experience that aligns Indigenous Knowledge and STEM.

The summit welcomes a group of Indigenous high-school youth and teachers from across Ontario and is being delivered as part of Virtual Ventures for-credit Indigenous land camp at the Thompson Island Cultural Camp in Akwesasne First Nation, which is supported by CIFAR, Enbridge and Shopify. It will feature Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers from four cultural backgrounds -Haudenosaunee, Anishinaabe, Blackfoot and Cree 鈥� who support the Actua team in delivering culturally relevant STEM activities that build critical skills and confidence.

Over the ten-day camp, youth will build an Indigenous encampment consisting of traditional structures, such as a Haudenosaunee longhouse, a Blackfoot tipi, a Cree Meechwaap and a sweat lodge, and participate in related STEM activities provided by Indigenous cultural specialists and STEM professionals. These activities, such as the Tipis to Telescopes and others, focus on how new and emerging technology, like artificial intelligence, can be used to impact our daily lives and help participants make connections between modern science and traditional Indigenous Knowledge.

Upon completion of the camp, participating youth will be eligible to receive a high school credit. These Actua-issued credits are recognized by the Ontario Ministry of Education and count towards a student鈥檚 Ontario Secondary School Diplomas.

“By administering high school credits to youth participating in land-based learning, Actua hopes to improve participation and graduation rates among Indigenous youth.”

In addition to the land camp for youth, the summit engages educators in , designed to help educators learn how to incorporate Indigenous land-based knowledge into their classrooms. The four-day program is designed, developed and delivered by Indigenous community leaders, Knowledge Keepers and STEM content practitioners. Together, they work to advance reconciliation in western education by reaffirming that Indigenous Knowledge plays a crucial role in STEM and by grounding content in the community鈥檚 unique cultural and educational priorities.

鈥淭he success of Actua鈥檚 existing InSTEM program and the impacts communicated by our Indigenous community partners have produced a growing demand for even more training opportunities for youth and teachers interested in pursuing and applying Indigenous land-based STEM knowledge,鈥� says Jennifer Flanagan, CEO, Actua. 鈥淭his summit aims to address this demand and make an even deeper impact as we work to move the dial on Indigenous participation in STEM.鈥�

鈥淚n delivering the initial pilot of Actua鈥檚 InSTEM Land Camp in 2017 and by continuing to provide this impactful program every summer, Virtual Ventures has developed strong relationships with Thompson Island Cultural Camp in Akwesasne,鈥� says Christine Riddell, Executive Director of Virtual Ventures.

The summit is part of Actua鈥檚 national InSTEM program, which annually engages 35,000 Indigenous across 200 First Nations, Inuit, and M茅tis communities in culturally-relevant STEM experiences that allow participants to recognize and celebrate their existing cultural knowledge as Indigenous Peoples.

Over the years, the program has resulted in systemic impact by improving educational outcomes for Indigenous youth and contributing to the growing recognition that Indigenous Knowledge is equal to and often forms the basis of what we today call STEM.

杏吧原创 Virtual Ventures

Virtual Ventures is a not-for-profit organization run under the Faculty of Engineering and Design at 杏吧原创 University that offers nationally recognized science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programming for youth in the Ottawa region ranging from those who have completed junior kindergarten up to students in grade 12. Initiatives run through Virtual Ventures include summer camps, fall and winter clubs, school outreach workshops, InSTEM (Indigenous Youth in STEM) programs, Girls Outreach Events and more.

杏吧原创 Actua

is Canada’s largest science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) youth outreach organization representing over . Each year, Actua’s growing network of member organizations engages over 350,000 young Canadians in 500 communities nationwide in transformative STEM learning experiences that build critical skills and confidence. Actua focuses on engaging underrepresented youth through specialized programs for Indigenous youth, girls and young women, at-risk youth, and youth living in Northern and remote communities. Its major funding partners include the Government of Canada, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, RBC Foundation, the Suncor Energy Foundation, Protein Industries Canada, TD Bank Group, Toyota Canada Foundation, Enbridge, Microsoft Canada, NCR Foundation and Imperial.

Media Contact:

Katrina King
Director of Communications
Actua
613-234-4137
katrina.king@actua.ca

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杏吧原创鈥檚 Faculty of Engineering and Design is getting ready to host this year鈥檚 Go Code Girl workshop. Go Code Girl is a two-day event that gives girls in grades 7 to 12 the opportunity to learn more about the world of coding and software development and explore what a career in computing or engineering might look like. The workshop runs in the morning over the course of two Saturdays.

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As an undergraduate in electrical engineering in the early 2000s, Prof. Winnie Ye was one of only five female students in her program. In 2007, she was also the only woman in her PhD cohort. And two years later, she was the first woman faculty member in 杏吧原创鈥檚 Department of Electronics.

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From a young age, 杏吧原创 University Department of Electronics Prof. Winnie Ye, has been fascinated with discovering how things are built and how they work, which planted an early interest in studying science, technology, engineering and math. Coming from a tech-driven family, where both of her parents and two sisters studied computer science, Ye decided to devote herself to building and creating as an engineer.

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, professor in the  and Canada Research Chair in Nano-scale IC Design for Reliable Opto-Electronics and Sensors, has been awarded the 2020 Partners in Research (PIR) Technology and Engineering Ambassador Award. PIR鈥檚 mandate is to educate the public about the importance of research in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). Ye received this year鈥檚 award for her work in silicon photonics, as well as her dedication to STEM-based outreach activities.

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As Ottawa youth transitioned to learning online until schools reopen, specialized educational programs have been finding creative ways to continue their programs. 杏吧原创 University鈥檚 Virtual Ventures (VV) has adapted its science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education by delivering materials to students at their homes, as well as providing free do-it-yourself projects online.

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