Tens of thousands of B.C. public school students are embarking on new tech-based projects thanks to $150,000 from Simon Fraser University aimed at transforming classroom experience.
The 2025 Cmolik-SFU Grant Program supports classroom, school, and district-based science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) projects. Administered by Simon Fraser University's Faculty of Education through the Cmolik Endowment Fund, the program empowers educators to design initiatives that build critical thinking skills, foster curiosity, and create equitable opportunities for students from kindergarten to Grade 12.
"The Cmolik-SFU Grant Program has the potential to strengthen the educational experiences and learning outcomes for generations of students, and we are excited to see such an enthusiastic response from education communities across B.C.," says Dan Laitsch, dean of education at SFU. "We deeply appreciate the transformational financial support we have received from Ellen and Russ Cmolik."
In Coquitlam, the Expanding Equitable Access to Robotics in Middle Schools project received $25,000 to scale a pilot MakeX robotics program to all 14 middle schools, reaching 7,500 students annually and promoting gender equity in STEM education.
"Our goal is to democratize access to robotics education," said Dave Sands, principal of technology implementation with the Coquitlam school district. "We hope to spark interest in girls an underrepresented group in robotics and promote overall equity in STEAM education to prepare all students for future tech-driven careers."
North Vancouver also received $25,000 for the Robotics for All: Building STEM Pathways Through Teamwork, Coding, and Competition project, which will expand robotics clubs to all 26 elementary schools, pairing students with mentors and culminating in a district-wide robotics competition.
Ten more school districts received $10,000 grants for projects ranging from digital storytelling and Indigenous education to makerspaces and virtual reality.
Other innovative grant finalists
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SD27 - Cariboo-Chilcotin (Tatla Lake Elementary and Junior Secondary)
Voices of the Valley: A Rural Youth Digital Newspaper project will engage students as journalists, editors, and designers to collaboratively publish multimedia newspapers using Canva, storytelling, and digital media tools.
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SD33 - Chilliwack (Promontory Heights Elementary)
Building Future Innovators Through Hands-on, High-tech Learning expands the school's Makerspace with robotics kits, engineering tools, and STEM challenges.
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SD37 - Delta (Hawthorne Elementary)
Stories the Land Remembers and Tells Today will create a video-based curriculum that follows Indigenous hunting journeys, blending biology, culture, and reconciliation lessons for use across K-12 classrooms.
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SD39 - Vancouver (J.W. Sexsmith Elementary)
The Maker Mindset: Empowering Young Designers Through Applied Design, Skills, and Technologies (ADST) will embed design thinking and ADST kits including robotics, sewing, and cardboard engineering into K-7 classrooms.
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SD41 - Burnaby (South Slope/BC School for the Deaf and Cameron Elementary)
Digital Storytelling in the Library Learning Commons will transform libraries into storytelling hubs, where tools like Book Creator and stop-motion animation will be used to create multimodal stories by K-12 students.
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SD51 - Boundary (Greenwood Elementary)
3D Printing and Laser Cutting Lab will expand access to modern design tools, enabling students across the district to learn digital modeling, prototyping, and hands-on problem-solving through 3D printer, Tinkercad, Canva, and LightBurn.
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SD61 - Greater Victoria (Cedar Hill Middle School)
Landing Stories, A Digital Witness will engage 6-8 grade students in creating digital storytelling through film, audio, and photography to document Indigenous land-based learning, guided by Indigenous Education leaders.
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SD72 - Campbell River (Penfield Elementary)
Our Stories, Our Strength: A Journey of Healing and Reconciliation will give students opportunities to co-create bilingual (English and a local Indigenous language) picture books and a collaborative mural using Book-Creator, Canva and Office 365.
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SD81 - Fort Nelson (Fort Nelson Secondary School)
VR Learning Lab will introduce Class VR technology to provide immersive experiences across subjects, enabling students in this remote community to virtually explore museums, and historic landmarks.
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SD85 - Vancouver Island North (Sea View Elementary)
Create Lab: A Student Innovation and Storytelling Studio will establish weekly Innovation Blocks where students design STEAM projects, experiment in a makerspace, and create podcasts, videos, and prototypes that blend technology with literacy.
