GM Support for STEM Keeps on Truckin’

General Motors (GM) Canada, a longtime donor to Ontario Tech University, is “committed to promoting science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) to underrepresented groups across the country,” says Regan Dixon, GM’s Senior Manager, Thermal and Body Software and Diagnostics, who has been directly involved in determining how the company supports that goal.

GM works with Ontario Tech’s Engineering Outreach team to make this commitment a reality. In 2022, the company sponsored the c_wonder: Mobile Design Lab and the Turtle Island summer camp. c_Wonder is a school-based outreach program that provides handson learning and design-thinking STEM workshops to students in kindergarten to Grade 12. Ontario Tech Engineering Outreach staff bring the dedicated GM truck/lab directly to schools to deliver age-appropriate programs.

“It’s a great way to marry the auto industry and underserved communities who can’t get to the university,” says Regan. “However, the pandemic created an innovation in how this program works and these programs are now delivered virtually, too.”

Meanwhile, the Turtle Island summer camp studies the relationship between STEAM (STEM plus the arts), Indigenous Peoples and the land. The weeklong camp explores STEAM and makes connections to the traditional knowledge of Indigenous Peoples to help campers better understand their responsibility as stewards of the environment.

“Our goal is to support culturally responsible programming for youth who may not have robust STEM learning opportunities,” says Kristy Brown, GM Senior Manager, Internal, CSR, and Manufacturing Communications. “We want to increase their presence, persistence and achievements in STEM.”