Innovation, Trade and Rural Development
December 16, 2009

Projects Aimed at Developing New Generation of Innovators

With an investment totaling more than $440,000, the Provincial Government today announced its support of 21 projects that are focused on developing a new generation of innovators and creating awareness of career options for youth in the areas of science, engineering, and technology.

�Innovation does not have any boundaries,� said the Honourable Shawn Skinner, Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development. �It is not defined by geography or age. It can be done anywhere, at anytime, and by anyone. As a government, we are taking important steps to introduce youth to the vast possibilities that exist and to support the continued development of young minds across the province.�

Through its innovation strategy, Innovation Newfoundland and Labrador: A Blueprint for Prosperity, the Provincial Government identified support for youth as an essential element in creating a culture of innovation in the province. As part of the strategy, a recent call for proposals seeking projects and initiatives that support youth innovation was issued.

�Guided by the provincial innovation strategy, the Provincial Government has embarked on an aggressive course of action that is focused on encouraging greater levels of innovation and research and development,� said Minister Skinner. �Through its implementation, we are achieving our objectives � it led to the creation of the Research and Development Corporation, improvement of the province�s broadband capacity, advanced the interests of the ocean technology sector, and now is encouraging greater levels of youth innovation.�

For each initiative funded through the call for proposals, the Provincial Government is contributing up to 80 per cent of total costs to a maximum of $25,000. See the backgrounder for further details.

�The quality of each initiative is extremely impressive and representative of the ingenuity and creativity of the province�s youth,� said Minister Skinner. �I am confident that they will be as equally productive as enjoyable for all those involved.

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Media contact:

Scott Barfoot
Director of Communications
Department of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development
709-729-4750, 690-6290
scottbarfoot@gov.nl.ca

BACKGROUNDER
Supported Initiatives through Call for Proposals

• Actua, a charitable organization dedicated to provide youth with positive, hands-on learning experiences in science, technology, and engineering, is receiving $40,000 for two projects that will deliver three weeks of workshops to students in Gander and Happy Valley-Goose Bay.
   

• Amalgamated Academy in Bay Roberts is receiving $25,000 to upgrade its ability to produce and broadcast student-created content throughout the school, community, and the Internet. Students will host live broadcasts, create animations and special effects, and participate in other related activities.
   

• Le Conseil Scolaire Francophone Provincial de Terre-Neuve et-Labrador is receiving $25,000 to deliver sessions aimed at increasing the skill levels and levels of comfort with technology at its five schools across the province. Each school will offer sessions in how GPS technology and satellite imagery is used in local industries.
   

• Frank Roberts Junior High School in Conception Bay South is receiving $15,065 to establish a multi-media broadcasting system where it will produce a monthly news broadcast and offer workshops to other youth from other communities as a means of connecting, sharing, and learning information.
   

• The Harbour Breton Community Youth Network, in partnership with the Town of Harbour Breton, the Harbour Breton Recreation Commission, and Crown Enterprises (local community television channel) is receiving $25,000 to create an engaging social enterprise for youth. Local youth will engineer broadcasts and raise awareness of messages related to youth to the community.
   

• The Marine Institute is receiving $23,700 to undertake the planning, co-ordination, and implementation of the Youth and Oceans Conference in St. John�s and regional events in other communities. At the conference, youth will learn about the ocean environment and its importance to the provincial economy.
   

• The Marine Institute will also receive $31,030 to host two regional competitions where students design, develop, and operate a remotely-operated vehicle. One competition will be for high school and post-secondary students while the other is for junior high students.
   

• Memorial University�s Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science is receiving $25,000 to introduce grade 9-12 students to core engineering principles through interactive and educational engineering kits that will complement the current science and technology curriculum.
   

• Memorial University�s Distance Education and Learning Technologies is receiving $22,630 to use modern communications and media technologies to enable student participation in a variety of science and engineering activities originating at the university.
   

• Mount Pearl Intermediate is receiving $20,400 to host a workshop focusing on innovation for youth in the areas of science, engineering, and technology.
   

• O�Donel High School in Mount Pearl is receiving $25,000 to expand the international program Foundation for Inspiration of Science and Technology (FIRST) LEGO League to other schools in the province. The international robotics program encourages students to assemble robots to accomplish tasks involved in solving a �real world� problem. Last year, 13,700 teams worldwide, with over 135,000 students, participated in the engineering challenge.
   

• Skills Canada � Newfoundland and Labrador is receiving $25,000 to host student competitions in such areas as robotics, television video web design, computer animation, and graphic design. It will also host a model wind turbine competition where teams of four students will design and construct a working model wind turbine.
   

• St. Francis School in Harbour Grace is receiving $25,000 to deliver its SMART Schools Sharing Space project. The project is aimed at inspiring students to become involved in science and technology projects while developing collaborative problem solving skills. Through this project, students will collaborate with a partnering school, to develop and work through a design project which deals with the use of robotics in space. St. Francis students will be directly involved in the design, building and programming process, while the partnering students will be involved in the brainstorming sessions, and will receive an introduction into the field of robotics provided by St. Francis students.
   

• St. Matthew�s Elementary in St. John�s is receiving $25,000 to advance learning opportunities related to energy. Students will participate in field trips to energy sites, an energy career day, and an energy fair where students will have the opportunity to showcase their own innovations.
   

• St. Peter�s Academy in Benoit�s Cove is receiving $25,000 so it can send 24 students to the United States Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama to participate in a three-day space camp.
   

• Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) Grenfell is receiving $25,000 to create a student-run incubation centre at Sir Wilfred Grenfell College called The Greenhouse. Students will complete a feasibility study and research report on the appropriate business model for The Greenhouse.
   

• The Town of Belleoram is receiving $13,630 to host a youth conference in February 2010. Our Youth, Our Future will attract students from across the Coast of Bays Region and will demonstrate the importance of science, engineering and technology in advancing the local aquaculture and mining industries.
   

• Women in Science and Engineering Newfoundland and Labrador (WISE NL) is receiving $25,000 to deliver a series of workshops in Labrador on career opportunities for Aboriginal women in scientific fields that allow them to work in Labrador.
   

• The Humber Community YMCA in Corner Brook is receiving $4,000 to engage youth to develop a high quality 3D model and presentation for a proposed skateboard park. Youth will be involved with the hands-on planning and designing of the park and later present the concept to public and community stakeholders.
  
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