![\"K2i](\"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/yfile\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/889\/2021\/09\/Lisa-Cole-scaled-e1669925898907.jpg\")
\u201cBy creating a program where students can gain valuable work experience while earning a high-school credit, especially a prerequisite credit to STEM pathways, we help level the playing field for those who may otherwise have been pushed out of post-secondary STEM pathways,\u201d says Lisa Cole<\/strong>, director of programming for k2i academy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Throughout the summer, students worked as high-school lab assistants together with a dedicated team of undergraduate STEM student mentors, k2i academy staff, Lassonde faculty advisors, as well as high-school physics and English teachers. Guided by the program's focus on sustainable development, students explored diverse research topics such as robotics, to understand space, designing smart power grids for sustainable cities and engineering brain-like tissue for simulations and testing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The program culminated in a symposium at the end of the summer, which provided an opportunity for young researchers to showcase their hard work and present their findings to a wider audience, discussing their research and its potential impact on society, the environment and various industries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The event aims to not only celebrate the students' accomplishments, but highlight the importance of collaborative efforts between educational institutions, government bodies and private organizations to advance STEM education and empower young minds to shape a sustainable and equitable future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n k2i academy\u2019s partnership with the Ontario Ministry of Education has enabled this program to reach 400-plus high-school students with a team of 130-plus undergraduate STEM student mentors since June 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe Ministry of Education\u2019s partnership with k2i academy has become one of the most consequential relationships that the ministry has,\u201d says Patrick Case, assistant deputy minister of equity secretariat at the Ministry of Education. \u201cThis program is the face of change in STEM \u2013 breaking down barriers and opening doors that were previously closed for so many deserving but often overlooked young people. This is what change looks like.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Run by the Lassonde School of Engineering's k2i academy, the program offers students entering grades 11 and 12 a one-month paid summer research experience focused on sustainable development.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":317053,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11,13],"tags":[32,29,33,5,45,20,35,15,36,14,4],"yfileauthor":[204],"qualifier":[],"yfile-author":[],"tags-to-show":[149,145,177,180,163,173,153,158,157,169],"workflow":[],"class_list":["post-340354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","category-teaching-learning","tag-bipoc","tag-community","tag-equity","tag-experiential-education","tag-government","tag-lassonde","tag-partnerships","tag-sdg","tag-sustainability","tag-teaching-and-learning","tag-yfile","yfileauthor-yfilestaff","tags-to-show-bipoc","tags-to-show-community","tags-to-show-equity-diversity-inclusion-edi","tags-to-show-experiential-education","tags-to-show-government","tags-to-show-lassonde","tags-to-show-partnerships","tags-to-show-sdg","tags-to-show-sustainability","tags-to-show-teaching-and-learning"],"acf":{"internal_publish_date":null,"original_image":null},"yoast_head":"\n