By: Sonia Mendes
Ingenium - Canada's Museums of Science and Innovation
Wanted: Canada’s brightest young minds
The annual search is on for five exceptional, science-loving Canadian teens.
The 2021 Ingenium-NSERC STEAM Horizon Awards invite youth ages 16 to 18 to promote positive changes in their communities using science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (STEAM). The application deadline for the award program is January 15, 2021.
The awards program — now in its fifth year — offers prizes to students from across Canada. Each year, five winners are awarded a $25,000 prize for their post-secondary educations. Two of the prizes are awarded to Indigenous youth.
All award recipients have one thing in common: each of them can point to an inspiring achievement in an area of STEAM. These achievements could be formally recognized — such as a science fair win or a patented invention. Or, they could be less formally recognized — such as developing a course for kids, or creating a local interactive art installation. Regardless of the accomplishment, it must reflect passion and illustrate a positive impact on the community.
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Ingenium
Katiya Gareau-Jones of Sudbury, Ontario was one of the award recipients last year.
2020 Ingenium-NSERC STEAM Horizon Award winners
Katiya Gareau-Jones of Sudbury, Ontario was one of the award recipients last year.
“As a proud Cree, I am the Youth Ambassador for the I Love First Peoples campaign in my region,” says Gareau-Jones. “I participated in the PEO Bridge Building Contest, which opened my awareness and interest in the engineering profession.”
Winning an award and $25,000 helped to put Gareau-Jones on the path towards professional success.
“I’m enrolled in the Civil Engineering Technology program at Cambrian College in fall 2020, after which I intend to attend Lakehead University to specialize in Structural Engineering,” she says.
The other four winners of last year’s awards were: Nicholas Flowers, Angeline Lafleur, Sawsan Haider, and Anjalee Narenthiren.
Typically, the awards are presented to the winners at a special ceremony in Ottawa, Ontario. Due to travel bans implemented by the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic, last year’s awards celebration was held virtually via Zoom.
As part of the virtual event, the award winners participated in a moderated panel discussion. Watch a short video of the online awards ceremony highlights.
Transcript
Ingenium - NSERC STEAM Horizon Awards 2020 Online Awards Ceremony Highlights
“The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted a wide range of global uncertainties, and Canada is not immune,” says Ingenium’s President and CEO, Christina Tessier. “Now more than ever, we need to nurture the bright, creative minds who will be the future leaders of STEAM fields. Through their studies and work in STEAM, they will help to build a better world.”
The Ingenium Foundation is pleased to partner with the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), Indspire, Lockheed Martin Canada and Syncrude Canada Ltd. to make these awards possible. These sponsors are committed to supporting Canada’s next generation of STEAM innovators, as they create a better world for generations to come.
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