University of Winnipeg Indigenous students had a chance to connect with fellow peers and be inspired by faculty while learning about opportunities to take part in innovative research at a recent Indigenous Students in Science event.
Elder Dan Thomas led a smudging ceremony and UWinnipeg alumni Mark Abotossaway shared his inspirational story with students. An Ojibwe from the Aundeck Omni Kaning First Nation, Abotossaway is a structural analysis engineer for Boeing, the world’s largest aerospace company. He came to UWinnipeg as a mature student, graduating with a BSc in physics in 2010. This led to a dual degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Minnesota.
“This was a really good event, and I can certainly see the science faculty doing it annually,” said Dr. Doug Goltz, Acting Dean of Science.
Some of the exciting research opportunities for Indigenous students in STEM talked about were:
- The Pathway to Graduate Studies program. This pilot program will run from May 6 – 31, 2019, and is open to Indigenous students who have declared a major in a natural science and engineering field.
- The Indigenous Scholars Program, which invites recent graduates and senior undergraduate students who identify as Indigenous to explore graduate studies.
- Funding opportunities such as the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Undergraduate Student Research Awards (NSERC USRA).
Learn more about opportunities for UWinnipeg Indigenous students at Indigenous UWinnipeg.
