STEM has the power to solve the world's biggest challenges. It is also the driving force behind Canada's innovation economy. Yet, for many youth, barriers to STEM education and careers still exist. Actua has become Canada's largest STEM outreach organization and Lockheed Martin Canada’s proud partner in advancing STEM in Canada.
They represent a national network of over 40 university and college-based members that engage youth, ages 6-26, in STEM learning experiences that are anything but ordinary.
Since 2015, Lockheed Martin has donated over $800,000 to Actua enabling them to further their skills development and outreach programming for underrepresented and underserved populations and vulnerable youth. This includes girls and young women, Indigenous youth, new Canadians, racialized youth, and youth with disabilities.
Some of Actua’s programs include their highly successful InSTEM Land Camp (pre-COVID) which provided a culturally based outdoor experience for Indigenous high school students. Actua’s amazing work didn’t stop with the pandemic when they pivoted to delivering InSTEM Culture Kits to hundreds of students in lieu of the in-person camps.
Actua’s InSTEM program is guided by a national recognition for the need to improve indigenous high school graduation rates and to engage more indigenous youth in STEM related careers. The InSTEM model is grounded in Indigenous knowledge first and incorporates current thinking and successful practices for increasing the involvement of indigenous youth and communities in solving local issues and in meeting Canada’s growing demand for STEM professionals.
Furthermore, the InSTEM program provided students with an opportunity to learn traditional on the land knowledge from elders and community members, while at the same time, showing a direct relationship between that knowledge and STEM. Actua’s instructors align land-based activities with related STEM and digital skills activities that equip students with tool sets, skill sets and mind sets to be the innovators of tomorrow.
Read more about Actua's work at https://actua.ca.