Last month, 16 female students from The Bermuda High School (BHS) had an incredible opportunity never before offered to local students.

Year 11 and IB1 students were invited to the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) campus to work with their Science and Engineering faculties on various projects.

The trip was designed not only to deliver content, but to inspire curiosity and hopefully nurture a passion for Science and Technology.

While there, the girls designed a sail boat, geocached, built a robot and solved a crime. They also had the opportunity to participate in a biodiversity tour of the local zoo and visit the Ontario Science Centre in Toronto.

IB1 student Lillian Griffith had this to say about the experience: “The UOIT trip was a wonderful experience. My favourite part of the trip was the time we spent in the forensic lab; we analysed a ‘crime’ by investigating shell casings, reviewing blood splatter and checking finger prints.

“Working as team with my friends and seeing a finished product at the end was really rewarding.

“We also visited the science museum, which focused on the future, the possibilities for which are infinite and exciting.”

Recognising BHS’s increased priority on the cross-curricular approach to STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art & Design and Mathematics) and STEAM initiatives, UOIT invited BHS to send students, the first time any students from outside Canada have been invited to the campus.

“As a University with a unique and technology-rich teaching and learning environment with a goal of challenging students to push the boundaries of innovation and discovery, BHS stood out as a School which is preparing its students, like we are, to excel in the global, knowledge-driven economy of the 21st century.”

Part of the mandate at UOIT is to encourage more girls to consider studying Science, Technology and Engineering for their post-Secondary education, so that they will have the critical thinking, innovative research and technological skills demanded by the world’s leading employers.

BHS is poised to graduate students who are confident, ambitious and fully capable of being successful at top universities” stated Joe Stokes, Associate Registrar and Director of Enrolment Services at UOIT.