Lakehead University is taking meaningful steps to strengthen Indigenous leadership in science and engineering with the launch of a new outreach project, Sustainable Engineering for Indigenous Communities. Backed by $540,000 in funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada’s (NSERC) PromoScience program, the initiative is designed to increase access and pathways for Indigenous youth to enter engineering fields—while supporting community-driven solutions to some of Canada’s most urgent infrastructure and sustainability challenges.
Set to launch in late 2025, the project, led by Lakehead’s Faculty of Engineering, focuses on youth from Northwestern Ontario, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan. With a goal of reaching over 2,000 Indigenous youth annually through in-person activities, and another 5,000 through digital learning resources, this initiative is centered on early outreach, culturally grounded programming, and community partnership.
For Indigenous and Northern communities, this project is more than STEM education—it’s about supporting youth to lead in designing solutions that reflect their values, knowledge systems, and priorities. Whether it's clean water access, sustainable energy, land use, or housing, the project aims to prepare the next generation of Indigenous engineers to bring local expertise and innovation into their home regions.
Community impact is embedded in the project’s design. In addition to educators, the outreach model includes Elders, Knowledge Holders, and cultural advisors in both development and delivery. Partners like Fort William First Nation, Gambler First Nation, and Lakehead’s Office of Indigenous Initiatives have provided strong support for the initiative, helping ensure it is relevant to local contexts.
“This work creates more than opportunity—it creates belonging and purpose,” said Dr. Janusz Kozinski, Dean of Engineering at Lakehead. “We want Indigenous youth to see themselves in the future of engineering and know that their ideas, their cultures, and their knowledge systems are valued.”
The program is delivered in partnership with PSI Analytics Inc. and Civiconnect, both of whom bring expertise in mentorship, work-integrated learning, and technical capacity-building for underrepresented youth.
For UArctic member institutions, this model offers an example of how technical education can be co-developed with Indigenous communities, not only to increase access, but to ensure education responds to community-identified needs and supports sustainable, culturally relevant outcomes.
As part of the UArctic network, Lakehead University continues to demonstrate leadership in advancing Indigenous education, innovation, and capacity-building across the North.
Learn more at: www.lakeheadu.ca
Contact: communications.research@lakeheadu.ca or through Lakehead University’s Faculty of Engineering