麻豆传媒's Faculty of Engineering is getting a major boost in its efforts to remove barriers and increase access to engineering education for equity-deserving groups thanks to the (JSF).
At an event held on campus Thursday (Feb. 27), JSF announced that it is making a transformative $1,050,000 gift to the Faculty鈥檚 Inclusive Pathways to Engineering Careers Program (IPP). Launched in 2023 through consultation with community partners and knowledge keepers, the program aims to remove barriers and increase access to engineering education among equity-deserving groups. The program will develop custom pathways and supports for each equity-deserving group.
The two initial pathways are specifically for Indigenous and African Nova Scotian and Black students at 麻豆传媒.
鈥淲e鈥檙e honoured to partner with 麻豆传媒 on this innovative program," says Robert A. Krause, Johnson Scholarship Foundation CEO. "麻豆传媒鈥檚 dedication to empowering deserving Indigenous and African Nova Scotian and Black students to graduate as engineers through this program aligns with our mission to help people prepare for and obtain a college degree. We look forward to seeing how this program will promote equitable access to engineering degrees."听
Attendees at this week's gift announcement.
Building on a strong partnership
The gift builds on a long-standing partnership between 麻豆传媒 and JSF, which provides grants for scholarships and other support to non-profit organizations that serve students with disabilities, students Indigenous to Canada and the United States, and students from low-income families. Working with the university, JSF helped create scholarships that have benefitted 160 students with disabilities and the Health Sciences Pathway Initiative.听听
鈥淭his donation is more than just financial support 鈥� it is an investment in the future of our students and the strength of our community,鈥� says Dr. Kim Brooks, president and vice-chancellor of 麻豆传媒. 鈥淚t reaffirms our shared belief that education should be accessible to all. We are incredibly grateful to the Johnson Scholarship Foundation for their generous commitment to support the Inclusive Pathways to Engineering Careers Program.鈥澨�
PREP Academy Founder Ashley Hill and President Brooks sign a memorandum of understanding at Thursday's event.
In addition to scholarships that reduce the burden of accessing post-secondary education, IPP will provide Indigenous and African Nova Scotian and Black engineering students with wraparound supports, such as mentorship and career coaching, to ensure that they succeed professionally. This will help foster a more diverse engineering workforce that reflects and develops innovations that benefit the communities it serves.听
鈥淚 am so proud of the continued commitment to drive positive social change within both the university and our Faculty,鈥� says Sherida Hassanali, assistant dean, (Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Accessibility) for the Faculty of Engineering. 鈥淭he development of the IPP is an opportunity for the Faculty and the communities who have been historically and traditionally marginalized to come to together to heal, create, and transform ways of being in engineering. These efforts will make the program welcoming, inclusive, and safe so students from equity-deserving communities thrive, and, in turn, make the field of engineering more diverse, inspired, and robust.鈥�
The IPP also benefits from a partnership with (ILA). This innovative university-community partnership mobilizes university/college students, faculty, and community leaders to introduce students to the world of STEM, improve their success, and help bridge the achievement gap for Grades 6-12 students of African heritage in Nova Scotia.听听
鈥淲e will continue to work closely with ILA to ensure that the Pathways Program is developed in partnership with them and promoted to students in their program,鈥� says John Newhook, dean of the Faculty of Engineering.听
Dean Newhook delivers remarks at the event.
Diversifying the field of engineering
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The program welcomed its first cohort of Indigenous students in September 2024. It will welcome a second cohort of African Nova Scotian and Black students in September 2025, thanks in part to memoranda that have been signed or are in the works with the PREP Academy, the Delmore Buddy Daye Learning Institute, and the Black Cultural Centre. By 2029, the program will graduate at least 40 additional Indigenous and African Nova Scotian and Black students. These first five years will lay the groundwork for increased representation of equity-deserving groups at 麻豆传媒 and in engineering.听
Shown right:听Sherry Salway Black of the Johnson Scholarship Foundation
鈥淭hroughout my engineering degree at 麻豆传媒, I have often been placed in rooms with few people that look like me,鈥� says Elisabet Astatkie, a fifth-year student who is studying Industrial Engineering. 鈥淢aking conscious efforts to increase the number of Black students enrolled in the program will help to increase the proportion of Black engineering professionals and diversify the workforce. I鈥檓 grateful for the Faculty of Engineering and their conscious efforts to adopt this pathways program.鈥�