On May 6, the Science in Action bus brought 30 high-school students from the York Region District School Board (YRDSB) to the University as part of a tour created to showcase the many opportunities that await these future scientists and entrepreneurs.
YORKbiotech, along with the Regional Municipality of York, the Town of Markham and YRDSB organized the tour to educate students about the potential of medical and biotechnology research and development in the region. As part of their day, the students also visited IBM, Estée Lauder, Apotex, AMD Markham, MDS Sciex, Dalton Pharma Services, sanofi pasteur, York Central Hospital, Markham Stouffville Hospital and Seneca College at York, to see how successes of scientific and health innovation contribute to the quality of life of Canadians.
During their visit to York University’s Keele campus, the students, led by Emmanuel Matiya, a York student ambassador for the University’s Recruitment Division, had the opportunity to tour the new Sherman Health Sciences Research Centre. The building, which is set to open this fall, is home to researchers in the health, science and engineering fields. Students toured the future labs of the Centre for Vision Research and learned how biomedical and assistive technology experiments will be conducted. With support from the Faculty of Health, the high-school students also visited the School of Nursing’s resource centre to watch how nursing students can run clinical simulations on low- to high-fidelity mannequins.
“Setting the foundation for future entrepreneurship and scientific innovation is an important role that YORKbiotech plays in the growth of the bio-economy in the York Region,” said Janet LeClair, chief administrative officer of YORKbiotech Inc. “Through programs like the Science in Action tour we are able to demonstrate the value of collaboration by bringing students closer to research and business in various sectors.”
York Region is in the heart of a hub of Ontario’s innovative technology sector with over 120 companies involved in producing medical devices, biopharma and medical assistive devices. In addition, more than 900 companies in the information and communications technology, digital media, software and manufacturing sectors reside in the region.
YORKbiotech is a regional innovation network for biotechnology-related industries at the centre of the Greater Toronto Area. The mission of YORKbiotech is to act as a catalyst, harnessing the wealth of intellectual and technical resources to promote economic success and growth of the biotechnology and related industries as a key component of regional economic development.