Description:
With this A0 we will continue our development of whole-learner supports to support participation in research activities by Indigenous undergraduate and graduate learners by implementing new whole-learner-support oriented programming and activities that we have sandboxed over the past couple of years. This will occur principally in the context of summer research internships in Space Science funded in part through NSERC's USRA program. We are confident that this will lead to improving retention and graduation success of undergraduate STEM learners, and improving recruitment into STEM postgraduate programs and careers relevant to the Space sector. This is the key to achieving our long-term objective.
In the context of this proposal, "whole-learner support" refers to supporting and satisfying the 4 spheres of Indigenous education: Intellectual (the mind), physical (the body), emotional (the heart), and spiritual (the spirit). We enter into this research with the understanding that academic and career success demands balance, and missing support in one or more of these spheres may limit the ability of learners to thrive academically and may therefore limit potential career opportunities in the Space sector.
This project recognizes explicitly the unique challenges facing many Indigenous STEM learners, including inter-generational trauma in education, isolation (both geographically from distant community, and due to local under-representation), sometimes limited access to academic opportunities.
In 2024 and 2025 we initiated a pilot program using one-time training funds from the Royal Military College (RMC) to recruit a team of 3 Indigenous undergraduate STEM learners at Queen's to assist part-time with a variety of research projects in various STEM fields. This led to the recruitment of one of these learners as a full-time summer Astronomy and astrophysics research assistant, with funds provided by NSERC's USRA program and supplemented by granting council funds. It is the successes and lessons learned from this recent experience that inspires our application.
We note that Queen’s University already has a number of infrastructures that aid in supporting the whole learner for undergraduates, and to some extent for graduate students as well. A key aim of this project is integrate these existing supports into an enhanced and and focused 4-sphere program for undergraduate and graduate learners in space science, astronomy, and astrophysics. This will involve activities designed to bring together Indigenous learners within our circle in order to build relationships and local community. These activities will be carried out principally in the context of intensive summer research training experiences.