The funds will advance product validation for
the algae bioreactor used in carbon sequestration
CALGARY,
AB, June 27, 2024 /CNW/ - MindFuel is
pleased to announce that its recent application for funding from
the Indigenous Innovation Initiative (I3) has resulted in
$125,000, to be used for product
validation on an algae bioreactor, which was developed by an
Indigenous youth innovation team to support environmental
sustainability.
This shared success is the result of a collaborative agreement
between MindFuel and Team Phoenix, a group of talented Indigenous
youth --formerly students of Siksika Nation High School in
Alberta-- who developed a carbon
capture and sequestration technology, under the guidance of their
teacher, Izzy Ward, as part of
MindFuel's Tech Futures Challenge (TFC) 2022 program. The algae
bioreactor project garnered the Best Innovation in
Sustainability award ($1,000
prize) and, also, tied for Best Prototype award
($1,000 prize, shared with another
student group.) Prior to that, the same youth team, Siksika
Robotics, won recognition at the November
2019 geekStarter Robotics Workshop for Most Improved
Presentation, for their neuro-sensing smart robotic arm.
To learn more about Team Phoenix and their algae bioreactor
project, please visit the TFC 2022 product showcase video: SNHS -
an algae bioreactor to improve the environment's air quality
According to Ward, who is also the I3 project innovation lead,
and recipient of the 2023 Prime Minister Award of Teaching
Excellence, "Phoenix is meant to
be scalable, and youth across the country will be able to
participate and contribute to a larger effort in greenhouse gas
reduction, while also learning about and embracing Indigenous
values and ways of knowing." Ward adds, "As a member of the
LGBTQ2S+ community, I see this I3 grant as a double win, in that it
not only seeks to support Indigenous innovation, but also gender
equity by giving voice to under-represented females, and two spirit
people."
MindFuel is committed to long-term relationships geared to
increasing Indigenous youth STEM innovation skills and learning
development through projects, and recently published results of its
three year study in partnership with Future Skills Centre,
Building Pathways into STEM Innovation Futures for Indigenous
Youth, which outlines a learning framework that
supports long-term economic opportunities for Indigenous youth.
"MindFuel has a decades-long history of making the innovation
and technology space more accessible to youth, especially those
traditionally under-represented," says Cassy Weber, CEO of MindFuel. "We're
particularly proud of our collaborative work alongside Indigenous
communities not only in this I3 opportunity but, also, in our
recent study with Future Skills Centre," she says. "We
demonstrated that high learning engagement results when
project-based learning is combined with knowledge sharing, while
interweaving Indigenous ways of knowing with western science.
Through this two-eyed seeing approach, Indigenous youth have the
right learning context to excel in STEM innovation, and 70% of
youth indicated an increase in innovation mindset
development."
"The Indigenous Innovation Initiative (I3) is excited to support
The MindFuel Foundation in supporting Project Phoenix – Tackling
climate change through indigenous STEM innovation and gender
diversity," said Alexandra Langford-Pezzo (she/her,) of
Indigenous Innovation Initiative. "The MindFuel Foundation was
successful in its application to our most recent RFP, Advancing
Indigenous Gender Equality through Innovation and Social
Entrepreneurship Program. The purpose of this RFP was to offer
funding to First Nation, Metis, Inuit women, and the two-spirit+
community by providing access to capital in the form of a year-long
grant for them to dream big and pursue social Innovation."
Ward says, "MindFuel and its Tech Futures Challenge program have
played a critical collaborative role in providing me and my
students with supports, such as skills building workshops and
project funding, which helped us in the development of Phoenix, and our I3 success is an excellent
example of how collaborations that merge traditional Indigenous
worldviews with STEM innovation result in product innovation and
economic opportunity."
About MindFuel
The MindFuel Foundation (formerly
Science Alberta Foundation) is a registered charitable organization
committed to creating youth innovation talent. Since 1990, we have
been developing and distributing captivating, high-quality, 21st
century programs that ignite a passion for science, technology,
engineering, and math (STEM) innovation in K-12 and collegiate aged
students. The programs are technology based and technology infused,
developed to serve both in-class and extracurricular learning. To
date, MindFuel has invested over $124M into Canada's innovation ecosystem in over 1,600
communities, serving youth populations, including Indigenous
students, females in STEM, economically disadvantaged youth,
remote/rural students, racialized youth, and newcomers to
Canada.
MindFuel also delivers eLearning programming through its wholly
owned subsidiary, Wonderville Enterprises Ltd., which reaches
hundreds of thousands of teachers, students, and parents each year
in every province and territory, supporting over 600,000 learning
sessions annually in Canada, and
over 6,000,000 globally. Since inception, MindFuel has delivered
over 153,000,000 learning sessions in over 190 countries with its
online STEM programs.
For more information, please visit mindfuel.ca.
About I3
The Indigenous Innovation Initiative empowers First Nation,
Inuit, and Métis innovators and communities to address their own
challenges and drive inclusive growth through new or improved
ideas, programs, products, or services. Hosted at Grand Challenges
Canada, the initiative was founded to address health, social, and
economic challenges and promote community-led Indigenous
innovation. It aims to improve all life through Indigenous
creativity through its core principles of honouring Indigenous ways
of knowing and being, respecting Indigenous laws and rights, and
protecting the Land and Water.
For more information, please visit:
https://indigenousinnovate.org/
SOURCE The MindFuel Foundation