One of the biggest barriers facing First Nations, Métis, and Inuit students in STEM is the lack of academic role models who look like them. So in 2008, we built a program to change that.
The Verna J. Kirkness Education Foundation addresses the under-representation of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit students at Canadian universities — one factor being the lack of academic role models for these students.
We address this by offering scholarships to Indigenous students in grades 11 and 12 to spend a week at a Canadian university, interacting and learning with professors and their research teams.
Our Mission — to increase the number of Indigenous students graduating from pure and applied science, engineering, and mathematics programs in Canada.
Students experience firsthand what it’s like to live, study, and work on a university campus.
Students build lifelong connections with their university mentors and fellow Indigenous students from across the country.
Each year, the Foundation brings hundreds of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit high school students to campuses across Canada for a transformative week of hands-on learning and cultural exchange, paired with professors and researchers in science, engineering, and health sciences.
Apply in Grade 11 or 12
Get matched with a mentor
Spend a week on campus
Students are paired with dedicated mentors, fostering meaningful connections that inspire, guide, and support Indigenous youth as they explore their academic and career aspirations.
Students get access to culturally relevant resources and a welcoming environment, ensuring they feel supported and valued on their academic journey.
During their week at the program, participants live in university dorms and get to experience campus life firsthand.
Verna J. Kirkness is a member of the Fisher River Cree Nation in Manitoba. She is a lifelong advocate of Indigenous education and has created many learning opportunities for Indigenous people at all levels — extending new programs, access, support services, and cultural enrichment that scholars continue to build on.
Dr. Kirkness has written and edited nine books, including her autobiography, Creating Space, and has published numerous articles on Indigenous education in academic journals across Canada and internationally. For more than five decades, she has been a leading spokesperson for Indigenous education.
Registered as a Canadian charity (originally the Family Food Research Foundation) to help Indigenous students pursue post-secondary science.
The first program, modeled on a genetics-research week Dr. Woznow had run since 2001.
Introduced by Dr. Emőke Szathmáry, she agreed to lend her name to the Foundation.
Launched at the University of Manitoba; expanded into engineering in 2013.
Two more university partners bring hands-on research to more students.
Calgary, FNU, Ottawa, Victoria & Alberta joined — 130 students, 53 mentors in 2019.
“Increasing the number of Indigenous students graduating from pure and applied science, engineering, and mathematics programs in Canada.”
In 2008, Ron Woznow and Susan O’Brien founded what’s now the Verna J. Kirkness Education Foundation — registered as a Canadian charity under the name Family Food Research Foundation, with a goal of increasing the number of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit students graduating from post-secondary science programs.
In 2010, Dr. Emőke Szathmáry, past president of the University of Manitoba, introduced Ron to Dr. Verna J. Kirkness — already regarded as the leading Indigenous educator in Canada. She believed in what they’d built and agreed to lend her name to the Foundation, which has carried her name, and her vision, ever since.
Ron Woznow & Susan O’Brien founded the Foundation in 2008 and secured its earliest support through AFMNet.
840+ alumni. 175+ home communities. One growing family of Kirkness Scholars.
Explore how a week in the lab changes what’s possible for a Kirkness Scholar.