This fall, NSBE (National Society of Black Engineers) Magazine tells the success story of U of T Engineering’s ENGage program.

ENGage, a unique partnership between U of T’s NSBE chapter and the Engineering Student Outreach Office, allows black youth – in grades seven and eight – to explore engineering through week-long, hands-on projects.

The program was conceived by engineering students Mikhail Burke (MSE 1T2) and Ayokanmi Falade (MechE 1T1 + PEY) in 2009, when they were President and Vice-President, respectively, of U of T’s NSBE chapter.

In its two years of existence, ENGage has grown from a week-long summer program with 25 participants in 2010, to a two week-long program, with 50 participants in 2011. This year’s ENGage was coordinated by U of T Engineering students, Oti Agbeyegbe (IndE 1T3), Andrew Brown (MechE 1T3) and Dimpho Radebe (IndE 1T4).

ENGage, which hopes to expand from a summer program to one that runs throughout the academic year, is the only Canadian camp of its kind that is led by an NSBE chapter.