STLHE 2016 SAPES

Housed at Queen’s University, and partnered with U Ottawa, RMC and the University of Manitoba, the SERA program (Sustainable Engineering in Remote Areas), responds to this gap in educational offerings by offering a unique training experience for graduate students. Funded through NSERC CREATE (Collaborative Research and Training Experience) SERA students participate in a unique training program that features Aboriginal culture while developing professional skills that complement their program-specific technical skills.


SERA’s main training goal is to enhance the education of graduate students by intertwining technical research with cultural sensitivity, ethics, sustainability concepts, and business skills. This is a collaborative approach connecting researchers in engineering, science, policy studies, and business to members of industry and Aboriginal communities. Because of the need to increase Aboriginal representation in both NSE and non-NSE disciplines, this program seeks to train graduate level role models to work in Aboriginal communities, and supports and recruits Aboriginal undergraduates to pursue further education or employment.