U of S SCI-FI Camps funding boost will immerse youth in STEM

Actua, which provides STEM education programs to Canadian youth, made the announcement as part of a larger federal announcement.

Funds will be used to scale up SCI-FI Science Camps’ community programming for kids to reach even more youth in Saskatchewan with inspiring, hands-on coding and digital skills experiences. Over the next two years, this investment will allow the U of S to offer additional workshops, some of them at no cost, and increase exposure to STEM education to more Saskatchewan students, with particular emphasis on underrepresented groups.  

“It is critical that future generations of STEM professionals are prepared with the skills they need in an increasingly digital world, and that they reflect the demographics of our communities,” said U of S Engineering Dean Suzanne Kresta. “I am pleased to know that this investment will directly impact underrepresented groups such as young women, Indigenous youth and at-risk kids, and encourage them to participate in our SCI-FI programs.”

SCI-FI Science Camps is one of 35 network members receiving CanCode funding through Actua and will work with colleagues across the network to develop and exchange content that will help inspire Canada’s next generation of innovators.

“We are honoured to be a recipient of CanCode funding and thrilled to provide additional support to the U of S to engage more youth in building digital skills,” said Jennifer Flanagan, president and CEO of Actua. “This support means that thousands more youth in Saskatchewan will have the opportunity to access free, deep-impact, face-to-face learning experiences which are critical to their future success and our future Canadian workforce.”

“Our camps have been running at the U of S for over 30 years and during that time we have reached over 140,000 children,” said Maureen Bourke, director of SCI-FI Science Camps at the U of S. “Not only do the SCI-FI programs help K-12 youth learn about science and engineering, but our university students also benefit through employment as camp leaders and learn valuable leadership and communication skills.”

Actua’s 35 network members will reach 500,000 youth and over 10,000 teachers across every province and territory with CanCode funding.

CanCode is a $50 million-dollar fund, announced in the 2017 federal budget, that is supporting the development of coding and digital skills for youth across Canada.

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For more information, contact:

Jennifer Thoma
Media Relations Specialist
University of Saskatchewan
306-966-1851
jennifer.thoma@usask.ca  

Kristina Martin
Director of Communications
Actua
613-234 4137
kristina.martin@actua.ca
www.actua.ca