Students had a chance to show off their skills in coding, robotics, video game design, 3D printing, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy at a student fair at the Saskatchewan Science Centre. Hosted by the Nanan STEM Academy, co-founder Shaun Nanan was keen to repeat this event for the fourth year in a row. In a world where students are using additional technology more than ever before, Nanan believes that it’s an opportunity to put these skills to good use. “They would learn things like math and creativity, logical sequencing, troubleshooting, coding and resiliency, and fortitude,” he said at Saturday’s event. “They just gain confidence when they’re working on these video games.” However, Nanan doesn’t want to stop at technical skill development. Much of entrepreneurship is the art of presenting, which he believes goes hand in hand. “Leadership, collaboration, communication, cultural competency, fortitude, resiliency,” are what Nanan would describe as essential non-technical skills. “Now the best way to deliver this is through interactive STEM activities. So, it’s also training them in digital literacy that’s required for the future as well, but also when working with groups with other people, they’re gaining those skills and collaboration. These students that may have been shy at the beginning, are now confident in getting up and showcasing their project to the public,” he explained. Travelling from Saskatoon for the day, Abdurahman Honey, a student support assistant with Truly Alive, teaches younger students the life of robotics. “It’s something fun that the kids have been doing and wanted to expose them to something that’s robotics related,” the second-year University of Saskatchewan student said. “Hopefully in the future, the students will build on this passion, and it’ll build much bigger applications, and much bigger softwares. Today is a learning stepping stone for them.” As for Nanan STEM Academy, they’re grateful for the number of resources that have been given to allow students to have the opportunities. Nanan notes that these STEM events run every six months around Saskatchewan, in the months of October and April.
