Esmee Bennison says she wasn’t sure what she wanted to do with her life back in Grade 11, when she enroled in a technological design class at uOttawa.
She had interest in engineering, but the resources available in high school weren’t enough for her to know for sure. “I didn’t have a good understanding of what I would be doing, and the kinds of things that I could accomplish with that degree,” she explains.
But everything changed after taking the TDJ2O course at the University of Ottawa Faculty of Engineering’s Secondary School.
“It was that course that kind of pushed me over the edge into doing an engineering degree,” says Bennison, now a third-year biomedical mechanical engineering student at uOttawa working a co-op placement at Red Maple Trials.
“It gave you a better context of what to expect, because you don’t really get that in your typical high school classes — at least not the ones that were offered in my school.”
Bridging to a university degree by ‘sparking interest in technology’
Bennison is just one of many high school students taking credited science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses at uOttawa’s Faculty of Engineering Secondary School.
As Ottawa’s tech sector expands, demand has risen for STEM-savvy talent. The University of Ottawa has answered that call early with a unique opportunity for high school students to explore engineering, coding, AI, and quantum computing while earning Ontario Secondary School Diploma credits.
Students can take courses such as Computer Technology: Quantum Computing, AI and Cyber Security (TEJ2O); Technological Design (TDJ2O); or Technology and Trading Skills (TAS1O) either full-time for a month during the summers or part-time during the school year.
- Courses focus on project-based experiential learning involving technology like electronic circuits, micro-controllers, virtual reality, 3D modelling, and coding languages.
- Students engage in real-world projects such as building an AI-powered device, using interactive quantum simulators, or defending against cyber attacks at the uOttawa-IBM Cyber Range.
uOttawa Engineering Outreach Office Manager Julie Olivier says engaging youth early is critical to encourage the next generation of innovators — along with giving students greater visibility into the possibilities of an engineering degree.
“We want to get them excited about building real tech — from coding microcontrollers to simulating quantum systems,” she explains. “When students see the practical impact of their projects, it inspires confidence and curiosity,” adding that courses also involve alumni speakers who explain potential career paths open to STEM students.
She says the Secondary School’s project-based nature helps differentiate it from most high school or even university courses. “There is no final exam, “ she says, “and that’s because we want to focus on building things, so that at the end students feel proud that they’ve created something.”
Getting a leg up on other students in a competitive environment
While taking a course at uOttawa’s Secondary School doesn’t guarantee acceptance to university, it does provide several tangible benefits.
Sophie Gouriou, a first-year mechanical engineering and computing technology student who took two courses at the Secondary School, says it helped fuel her interest in coding. “I wanted to learn about coding as much as I could,” she says. “And you can’t really do that much in grades seven and eight.”
Smaller classes filled with students with similar interests mean young people can more easily connect with professors and like-minded students. Many students come to campus during the summer to do their courses, says Olivier. “They get familiar with the campus, so it’s not as intimidating — they’ve seen the space, they’ve used the labs, so it’s not as scary.”
Earning a credit this way also adds up to one less course needed to graduate, which can be a big help in later grades when time management is crucial. “Instead of having four courses per semester in Grade 12, they only need to do three,” explains Olivier.
Helping meet new provincial technology education requirements
With the Province of Ontario’s new requirement for all students to complete at least one Technological Education credit, Olivier says the Secondary School can also help support high schools.
“A lot of high schools are not necessarily prepared to have a large number of students do these courses,” she says, “because they might have one teacher who is good in robotics, for example, who used to have just one or two classes per year.”
It’s a challenge that Gouriou, the first-year coding student, says she experienced firsthand.
“There’s usually only one teacher at high school who’s qualified to do those classes,” she explains. “So you just learn the basics. But the uOttawa class really let me dip my toes into a bunch of different coding languages. It just exposed me to an array of new and interesting stuff.”
Enrolment for the summer 2025 sessions is now open. The Secondary School will offer seven courses in 2025 in two sessions (July 2 to July 25, and July 28 to August 22), including a new Grade 11 course called Creating Opportunities through Co-op (DCO30).
Courses fill quickly, and spots are limited — visit the Faculty of Engineering Secondary School website to learn more and to enrol your teen today!
