Through STEM activities in Canada and Australia, CGI seeks to spark curiosity and a passion for learning about technology in Indigenous students.

Local partnerships are essential to the success of these initiatives. By uniting our STEM expertise with First Nations cultural knowledge, we develop relevant educational experiences that introduce Indigenous students to diverse IT careers.

This collaborative approach ensures that these programs align with the unique needs of each community, while fostering a sense of ownership and pride among participants.

We partner with Cap Campus (in French) and the New Pathways Foundation in Montreal to offer exciting, hands-on STEM workshops. Our focus on experiential learning enables students to understand complex concepts and immediately put their learning into practice. As of November 2023, 289 young people and chaperones representing three Indigenous communities (Atikamekw, Innu, and Wendat) took part in six events.

In Edmonton, Alberta, CGI established a partnership with a nearby First Nation. Each month, CGI Partners travel to the First Nation’s Education Centre to deliver a STEM class to each of the Centre’s K-12 grades. We hope to encourage these learners to pursue a post-secondary education and continue their IT studies.

CGI in Australia supports the GO Foundation, whose mission is to empower First Nations youth through education via an extensive scholarship program, and to connect students to their identity, their culture, and the wider community. In 2024, we held our first STEM camp in Sydney. We were thrilled to profile Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander role models who are forging impressive careers in a variety of STEM fields.

This activity represents one of many meaningful steps identified in CGI’s Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP), an inaugural commitment that lays the foundation of our future RAPs and reconciliation initiatives under the Reconciliation Australia RAP framework.

Our role in these initiatives in Canada and Australia is to interest and excite Indigenous learners about STEM and careers in the tech industry. We look forward to deepening these relationships and identifying additional opportunities to encourage Indigenous young people to pursue IT studies and professions.