Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will deliver the closing remarks during the two-day Inspiring Diversity in STEM (IDSTEM) conference, to be held March 12 and 13 and hosted by Western students aiming to foster diversity and inclusion in science, technology, engineering and mathematics
Trudeau will join 17 other speakers and presenters at the sold-out IDSTEM 2022 conference, which will be held virtually this year.
📢 Surprise Announcement! An additional speaker will be joining us for Sunday March 13’s Closing Remarks, @JustinTrudeau, @CanadianPM!
We are honoured to have now been recognized at a municipal, provincial, and national level!#IDSTEM22 #WesternU #Canada pic.twitter.com/H3DO4QYdqP— Inspiring Diversity in STEM (@IDinSTEM) March 7, 2022
“After having to cancel the 2020 conference due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are thrilled to return and hold the IDSTEM 2022 conference virtually on March 12 and 13,” said Simran Sethi, IDSTEM co-chair.
Founded in 2015, Inspiring Diversity in STEM is a student-led grassroots initiative based in London, Ont. Its inaugural conference was held in March 2016 at Western. Originally called Inspiring Young Women in STEM, the organization later renamed it to, Inspiring Diversity in STEM, to be a “more inclusive community for people from various backgrounds, including race, ethnicity, gender and gender identity, age, socioeconomic status, national origin, sexual orientation, ability and religion.”
“During our two-day conference, our attendees will hear from five key leaders in academia and industry who will discuss their exciting research and inspirational careers, often touching on what EDI means to them,” said Sethi.
The keynote speakers include: astrophysicist Parshati Patel, Western Space educational outreach and communications specialist; Matthew Davison, dean, Faculty of Science; Jasmine Shaw, engineer and entrepreneur; Yara Hosein, business development manager, WORLDiscoveries; and artificial intelligence and data science expert Jude Kong.
Other key government officials are also expected to speak at the event, including Arielle Kayabaga, London West MP; Peter Fragiskatos, London North Centre MP; and Elizabeth Dowdeswell, lieutenant governor of Ontario. Opening remarks will be delivered by Opiyo Oloya, Western’s associate vice-president for equity, diversity and inclusion.
Attendees will have the opportunity to network with professionals from 13 companies at the industry expo, learn about graduate school and research opportunities from 12 programs at the STEM graduate program expo, and attend six workshops focused on diverse topics. The undergraduate poster competition will offer attendees the opportunity to learn about the latest scientific research conducted by undergraduate students at Western, Sethi said.