COVID-19 Protocols
Science World is following provincial health and safety protocols to minimize the spread of COVID-19 and are prepared to move our sessions online if necessary. At this time, The Discover program of Future Science Leaders will continue to be held in person.
Our current health and safety protocols include weekly health checks, access to frequent hand washing and hand sanitizers, mandatory mask-wearing, physical distancing, and sterilizing shared equipment and surfaces.
Subject to move online
If public health orders require our sessions to move online, this will NOT impact students’ opportunities to interact with diverse STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art & design, and mathematics) fields, learn scientific skills through a hands-on approach, build a life-long network of like-minded peers, and unleash their creative potential as they engage with the nature and process of science.
Refunds
Please note that no refunds will be given for the cost of the program if the sessions are moved online.
First year: Discover
Future Science Leaders can be a multi-year program. All prospective students apply to the first-year program called Discover.
Each week of Discover, you will participate in innovative learning and skill-building activities in a wide variety of STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts & design, and math) topics led by diverse experts and professionals. The topics covered each week will vary depending on the expert leading the session; some examples include disease modelling with a mathematician, PCR analysis with a geneticist, and machine learning with a quantum physicist. You will learn about career paths into STEAM, create a life-long network of peers, and unleash your creative potential in a supportive environment.
In Discover, you will develop a foundation in these advanced skills useful for university STEAM classes and careers:
- Keeping records in a lab notebook
- Researching reliable information
- Presenting data in a meaningful manner
- Writing proposals and designing experiments
- Visually and verbally communicating experiments through scientific posters
- Reading a scientific journal article efficiently
- Communicating scientific ideas to the public through blogging. Please check out our students’ work.
After Discover, students can apply to Innovate, the second-year program.
Second year: Innovate
After completing Discover, students can apply to Innovate, our second-year program that focuses on skill-building in either engineering or research. In Innovate, students learn advanced laboratory techniques and develop and carry out a major 10-week project that is written up as a scientific paper.
More information about Innovate is available upon acceptance into Discover.
Where and when does Future Science Leaders happen?
Students entering the first-year Discover program of Future Science Leaders will choose from one of the following weekly sessions:
- Tuesdays, 4pm–6pm at Science World, Vancouver
- Tuesdays, 6:30pm–8:30pm at Science World, Vancouver
- Wednesdays, 4pm–6pm at the Health and Technology Innovation Hub, Surrey
- Wednesdays, 6:30pm–8:30pm at the Health and Technology Innovation Hub, Surrey
The Discover program runs from September through until May
Who can apply?
Candidates for Future Science Leaders are:
- Curious, up for a challenge, and willing to take risks
- Open-minded, collaborative, compassionate, and creative
- Entering into grade 10 or 11 in September of their program year.
Applications are closed for the 2021/2022 program year.
The next eligibility is for the 2022/2023 program year. Students must be entering into grades 10 or 11 in September 2022.
Students in grade 12 as of Sept 2022 will not be considered for the program. If you have questions about your eligibility, contact us.
What is the cost?
The cost of the program is $500 plus tax. Financial assistance is available for those who need it.
What are alumni saying?
“I loved FSL because of the opportunities I gained and the people I met. Every week was new, exciting, and definitely something to look forward to. Coming in to sessions was often the highlight of my week.”--Megan Nantel, FSL Discover 2011
“We will never know the ultimate, perfect truth because that doesn’t really exist. It’s the process that matters most. I learned that in Future Science Leaders.”--Nicole Rzhemovskiy, FSL Discover 2015
“I can say 100% I would not be doing this job right now which I really love (research engineer at VGH) without FSL. The network and support continue when you leave the program.”--Edward Wang, FSL Discover 2012
"FSL is a transformative experience where I learned invaluable advanced STEAM skills, gained teamwork and leadership experience, and created personal projects under talented mentors. FSL helped jumpstart my passion for engineering, which led me to start my engineering club at school, develop a machine learning algorithm that helps detect skin cancer, and ultimately achieve a $100,000 scholarship.” --Xavier Lam, FSL 2021, Schulich Leader Scholarship Recipient 2021
Find more stories about our alumni at the bottom of this page.
