MacEwanCYU: Exploring STEM Outreach Opportunities within Community Engaged Research

Abstract

STEM outreach refers to the efforts to promote and encourage engagement in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) among students, especially those who are underrepresented in these fields. STEM outreach aims to inspire and motivate young people to pursue careers in STEM fields and to promote the importance of STEM education.

The MacEwanCYU (Children’s and Youth University) project is a pilot program that aims to partner STEM outreach opportunities with community engaged research. Many STEM outreach programs that bring science programs into classrooms of students in the K-12 system, however these programs do not address the barriers that students may face when accessing post-secondary education. Through this project we aim to examine barriers that students face when pursuing post-secondary education.

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Kaitlyn Towle-Straub