APEGA NEWS
School Projects Earn $50,000 in APEGA Awards
KEY OUTCOME: WORKPLACE CULTURE GUIDELINES By the end of the three years, we’ll release a compre- hensive document, with case studies, which can be used by APEGA permit holders and other businesses interested in changing their workplace culture. Topics will include: • inclusion • hiring practices • wellness strategies • pay equity • training and advancement opportunities • employee resource groups It’s been proven that diverse workforces are more successful and innovative. APEGA wants to support our Eleven hands-on, student-led initiatives have received new APEGA grants, giving their teachers that extra boost to energize their lessons with inspiring experiences. The STEM-focused projects are the inaugural winners of APEGA’s Innovation in Education Awards, sharing $50,000 in all. Among the adventures in learning represented are: • creating a turbine to charge cell phones • developing multimedia displays in a community observatory • programming sensors to optimize plant care in Martian soil • participating in a new robotics program • prototyping technologies that can withstand natural disasters • installing interpretive trail signs to showcase geological, ecological, and Indigenous learnings “APEGA wants to help expose students to the real- life applications of science, technology, engineering, and math, and the positive impacts that the associated CONTINUED FROM PAGE 17 ››
permit holders to design positive cultures, so they can be leaders and innovators in their fields. NEXT STEPS Over the next three years, we’ll continually seek the support of members and permit holders to ensure the project’s success. We will soon launch a survey to gather qualitative and quantitative information from current and past APEGA members to help us understand their employment experiences and challenges. We’ll also work closely with engineering and geoscience employers, which will help us test and modify our guidelines to ensure they’re feasible and achievable. To take part in our survey or to volunteer your organization to test the new guidelines, please contact outreach@apega.ca. geoscience topics and associated careers. Each chosen initiative contains activities that focus on engineering or geoscience and relate to realistic applications that could have a positive impact on the students’ communities. APEGA members are volunteering to mentor students and act as subject-matter experts. fields have on the world,” says APEGA Registrar & CEO Jay Nagendran, P.Eng., FEC. “We look forward to seeing the results of these projects and hearing how the students engaged in them.” About 850 students in grades 2 to 12, attending 12 different schools represented by seven school boards, will complete their projects in the 2018/2019 school year, kicking off a program that replaces the APEGA Teacher Awards. Through the APEGA Innovation in Education Awards, we continue to celebrate exceptional teachers—while helping them implement larger STEM initiatives. Innovation in Education is part of APEGA’s K-12 Outreach Program, which strives to increase awareness and excitement for engineering and
18 | PEG FALL 2018
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker