Seaspan Shipyards Invests in STEM Education
Seaspan Shipyards announced a $300,000 investment in Let’s Talk Science, a charitable organization that has been providing Canadian youth and educators with science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programs for more than 25 years. Seaspan’s three-year commitment will support the roll-out of new Kindergarten–Grade 12 (K-12) programming across Canada designed to educate and inspire youth about STEM careers in the marine and shipbuilding industries.
Seaspan’s contribution to Let’s Talk Science, which is part of the company’s commitment under the National Shipbuilding Strategy to enhance education and skills development in the marine and shipbuilding industries in Canada, will be used to develop digital resources, conduct outreach for students, and deliver professional development and career enrichment resources for educators. Starting in April 2021, English and French students will have opportunities to explore future STEM careers – both trades and professional – in Canada’s shipbuilding and ship repair ecosystem.
As marine businesses, including modern shipyards like Seaspan, continue to leverage new and emerging technologies in every aspect of their operations, the demand for both traditional and advanced STEM competencies will become more critical. The large non-combat vessels being built by Seaspan for the Canadian Coast Guard and Royal Canadian Navy require scientists, engineers, mathematicians, naval architects and physicists through to experts in ship construction, including robotics, artificial intelligence, welding and icebreaking steel technologies.
“Seaspan Shipyards and Let’s Talk Science are working together to ensure a sustainable future for Canada’s marine industry. By giving students the opportunity to learn about Canada’s marine industry, Seaspan is investing in the future of this innovation-driven field. This is exactly the kind of value-adding initiative we imagined when we created the National Shipbuilding Strategy,” said Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry.
“Thanks to Seaspan’s multi-year investment, we can do even more to engage youth and educators in learning about the diversity of careers that are available with STEM skills and knowledge. And we can do more to showcase the importance of STEM in skilled trades,” said Dr. Bonnie Schmidt, President and Founder of Let’s Talk Science.
Dave Hargreaves, Vice President Strategy and Business Development, Seaspan Shipyards, said, “For Canada’s shipbuilders and marine businesses to seize opportunities in a global, innovation-driven economy, both traditional and applied STEM competencies will become increasingly critical. Seaspan’s contribution to Let’s Talk Science will also focus on promoting STEM education needed in the skilled trades. We hope this investment will spark curiosity in young people to explore and consider the wide variety of rewarding STEM-related career paths in shipbuilding.”