For the 3rd year, WWEST and eng•cite (the operating name of the Goldcorp Professorship for Women in Engineering at the University of British Columbia) have partnered to fund new outreach programs by organizations throughout communities in British Columbia and the Yukon. These programs must promote women and girls pursuing and working in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Despite the growing numbers of woman undergraduates who are studying in engineering programs, women are still greatly underrepresented in STEM professions. Research and best practices have shown that diversity in STEM is beneficial to the development of creative and collaborative research and solutions through science.

The 2002-2009 NSERC Chair for Women in Science and Engineering (CWSE), the Jade Project, established the funding program to advance gender diversity in science and engineering. This was then continued by the 2010-2015 CWSE BC/Yukon Chair, and is now continued by the 2015-2020 Chair. Throughout its history, this program has benefited the BC and Yukon region by supporting key community based organizations, creating a culture of cooperation between outreach groups that had previously been geographically constrained from one another, and creating seed funding to develop or establish programs so that more women and girls can be reached.

Applicants to the Funding Partners Program can receive funding for one specific project, up to a maximum of $5,000, and are expected to have matching funds from other sources, as well as a plan for program sustainability after the first year of funding.

This year, the WWEST and eng•cite Funding Partners Program received 12 applications and was able to fund 8 of the new programs for 2018 with approximately $30,000 in direct funding.

Organizations and Projects that received funding for 2018 programs include:

• Curiosity Collider Art-Science Foundation – Vancouver, BC
  Project funded: Interstitial: Science Innovations by Canadian Women

• Geering Up!, University of British Columbia Okanagan – Kelowna, BC
  Project funded: Engineering Badge Day for Girl Guides

• Integrative STEM Team Advancing Networks of Diversity (iSTAND), University of British Columbia Okanagan – Kelowna, BC
  Project funded: Indigenous High School STEM Learning Experience

• Ocean Wise – Vancouver, BC
  Project funded: Engineering at the Vancouver Aquarium

• Physics & Astronomy, University of British Columbia – Vancouver, BC
  Project funded: Introducing Physics to Young Girls

• School of Computing Science, Simon Fraser University – Burnaby, BC
  Project funded: Invent the Future (AI4All @ Simon Fraser University)

• Society for Canadian Women in Science and Technology (SCWIST) – Vancouver, BC
  Project funded: Piloting of a model for affiliated groups in British Columbia

• Stewart Blusson Quantum Matter Institute, University of British Columbia – Vancouver, BC
  Project funded: Quantum Indigenous Women Initiative (QuIWI)
  

The next call for funding proposals will be in August 2019 for projects taking place in 2020.
To find out more, check out the funding program website.