Launches Women in STEM Award Program
The province of Alberta is investing $1.9 billion in a series of programs that will get Albertans back to work and reduce emissions.
Up to $750 million will come from the government’s Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) fund and other public funding. The investment will be more than doubled by additional dollars from industry and other sectors, according to the government.
This investment is in direct response to the unprecedented economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and low oil prices, supporting a suite of programs that will help the industry reduce emissions. The TIER investment will support 3,400 jobs on its own and up to 8,700 jobs when investments from industry and other funding sources are included.
“These projects will create jobs, grow our economy and help the environment. That’s why we created the TIER program – to show the world that Alberta is an environmental leader while making our economy more competitive,” said Premier Jason Kenney.
This TIER funding includes:
- $80 million for Alberta’s new Industrial Energy Efficiency and Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage (IEE CCUS) Grant Program. The program offers funding for industrial energy efficiency and carbon capture, utilization and storage projects.
- $9.5 million through Emissions Reduction Alberta to support several carbon capture, utilization and storage projects that are creating jobs and reducing emissions, including:
- $3 million for Carbon Corp’s carbon nanotube technology (CNT), which is the strongest material known to humans
- $1.5 million for Carbon Upcycling Technologies, a Calgary-based startup that uses captured carbon dioxide to enhance materials like concrete, plastic and batteries
- $5 million toward Accelerating CCS Technologies, a collaboration between 17 countries coordinated by the Research Council of Norway
“We’ll stand by our industries and workers and we won’t leave our resources in the ground, as some have suggested we do. There is a better way,” said Jason Nixon, minister of environment and parks.
“Alberta is a province of innovators who are helping our world-class energy industry reduce emissions while creating jobs and getting Albertans back to work. This money from Alberta’s TIER program will get almost 9,000 Albertans working again. And, the technology that they develop will not only make life better for Albertans, but will help the world reduce emissions.”
Recently, the federal government announced it is investing more than $4 million through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council’s (SSHRC) Partnership Engage Grants to support 172 projects and almost 600 researchers working with businesses and community partners from across the country.
Women in STEM
The Alberta government is also investing $150,000 to the Women in STEM Award Program, which will help 50 young women reach their career goals in science, technology, engineering and math.
The awards, each worth $2,500, will be made available to women pursuing studies in STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) while working to advance equity in their field.
Awards will be granted based on two letters of recommendation and a personal essay outlining the contributions the applicant is making to advance equality in their chosen STEM field.
Women make up about half of the population in Alberta but only represent about a third of enrolments and graduates in STEM programs, and only about a quarter of employees in STEM fields, according to the government.
Also, 60 per cent of minimum wage earners in Alberta are women and women are clustered in lower-paying occupations. Almost 90 per cent of women aged 15 and older in Alberta are employed in the services-producing sector such as retail and hospitality services.
Alberta and its partner Loblaw Companies recently expanded their COVID-19 testing capacities in the province, according to the government.
