(Supplied/Red Deer Polytechnic)

By Josh Hall | @Vancan19

program benefits 5,000 students annually

Red Deer Polytechnic gets $162,000 STEM grant

Apr 7, 2025 | 1:27 PM

Red Deer Polytechnic is receiving a three-year PromoScience grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada valued at $162,000.

The grant will allow RDP to extend the impact of its Red Hot Science outreach program, meaning, among other things, it can offer more land camps to Indigenous high school students.

Additionally, the grant will enhance dual credit opportunities, enabling Indigenous high school students to earn both high school and post-secondary credits through the newly created land-based Indigenous Perspectives and Science course that integrates Indigenous knowledge and traditions.

“The Red Hot Science program highlights the breadth of programming offered by RDP to people of all ages,” says Lindsay Engel, Vice President, Academic and Student Experience, at Red Deer Polytechnic.

“Through this NSERC grant, even more youth will be able to explore their interest in STEM. Red Hot Science creates programming that sparks interest in post-secondary education, allowing these future leaders to contribute their knowledge and skills to high-demand careers in Alberta and further abroad.”

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The Four Seasons land camps, which have engaged 50 Indigenous youth, blend land-based teachings such as fish leather tanning and food preservation with opportunities to create digital stories capturing their year-long journeys, according to the polytechnic.

The Aunties in Training program, attended by 40 Indigenous girls, addresses the unique challenges they face through a curriculum guided by Indigenous women leaders. Both camps are led by Elders, Knowledge Keepers, educators and Red Deer Polytechnic faculty and staff, creating enriching experiences.

RDP’s Red Hot Science program offers other opportunities to learners from all over, and with the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). These include simple coding, building robots, and performing experiments in RDP’s biology, chemistry and physics labs.

The Red Hot Science program provides opportunities for more than 5,000 youth from across central Alberta each year.

For more information about the Red Hot Science program, please visit: rdpolytech.ca/redhotscience.

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