INSPIRE:STEM for Social Impact is a program of research and community-based innovation at the University of Victoria that aims empower to STEM students from underrepresented groups. We connect students with mentors from industry and the community to ideate and co-create solutions that address society’s most pressing challenges, especially in the area of sustainability.

INSPIRE's First Networking

Event Highlights

On Monday, June 20th INSPIRE held it's very first Networking Event at the University of Victoria, where six unique Apprentice Garage teams presented their progress and experiences in the program working with local community partners. The audience of over 130 was a mixture of undergraduate and graduate university level STEM students, local high school students, industry professionals, and local academic leaders all interested in learning more about the students' experiences and individual team journeys.

The Networking event included two keynote speakers from the University of Victoria – Dean of Engineering & Computer Science, Mina Hoorfar & Technical Assistant to VP of Research AI – IBM TJ Watson Labs, New York – Wendy Chong; in which the speakers relayed their own inspiring stories, as well as, indicated how the key skills displayed by the Apprentice Garage Teams correlated to experiences in the real-world.

As INSPIRE wraps up its 7th week, Apprentice Garage Teams successfully conclude the problem validation, solution curation, and stakeholder analysis of their individual projects. They got the opportunity to interact with their local stakeholders through in person interview while being guided by industry mentors, and INSPIRE Ambassadors.

Digital Scope

"How might we construct a tool to educate businesses on the environmental impact of their website so that businesses can begin to start offsetting and reducing the carbon impact for people visiting their website."

VBIS

"How might we ensure that acquired brain injury (ABI) information for Victoria Brain Injury Society (VBIS) clients is accessible and ABI-friendly?"

ClimAct

"How might we educate and motivate youth to take action so that we can make climate action easy and accessible for youth?"

RUSH Initiative

"How might we foster sustainable education, action, and community connection by making climate data accessible for the average community member?"

GVCEH

"How might we support women+ fleeing violence in finding a safe place to stay and in accessing other resources by helping the support workers coordinate a more streamlined system?"

Swan Lake

"How might we provide site data for Swan Lake Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary that is both accurate and accessible?"

Thank you to all of our local community partners for their ongoing time and support to INSPIRE:

We are extremely proud of all our Apprentice Garage Students, and we can't wait to see what they all achieve in the following months!

Stay tuned for our next INSPIRE showcase event in September.

Thank you to all of our Sponsors:

If you want to reach out to the INSPIRE team please email us at info@inspireuvic.org