Research shows that exposing kids to STEM subjects early in their development increases their chances of success in those fields later on, fostering critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
For the last five years, the University of Alberta's ELITE Program for Black Youth has provided paid summer internship opportunities in science, engineering and business to high school and undergraduate students — and it's making a real difference.
"Most get jobs before they graduate from undergraduate studies — they're that in demand," says program director André McDonald, a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. "Their resumes are substantive and meaningful, because the projects we give them are real-world projects."
In his own lab, McDonald introduces students to his work for the Department of National Defence making coatings to protect machine parts from wear and icing. But ELITE Program students take on a range of projects with other academic researchers, as well as in industry and government research labs.
Now, the ELITE Program has teamed up with the Faculty of Engineering's Fred Otto DiscoverE Program to give Black elementary and middle-school students an early jump start with hands-on experience in science and engineering at summer camp.
So far, the ELITE Program has secured more than $3 million in funding, including a recent NSERC PromoScience grant that will allow the U of A to support 400 students over the next three years.
