By McGill Reporter Staff
McGill is taking a proactive approach to drawing in new and motivated students. By popular demand, the University is hosting 15–17-year-olds this July with the launch of its new Summer Academy.
University Registrar and Executive Director of Enrolment Services Kathleen Massey says the hope is that the program will be enriching and fun for young students, and attract some, if not all of them, to eventually enrol at McGill.
“We want to inspire the curiosity of the students while they have a summer adventure which will be culturally and intellectually stimulating. We are also hoping that their experience with us will leave them with a warm and fuzzy feeling about McGill,“ she says with a smile.
“We hope students will feel more informed and open intellectually, with the confidence to develop the tools they need to grapple with the pressing issues they will face in these times.”
The Summer Academy will run for two weeks and focus on two critical areas of contemporary study: Humanitarian Crisis and International Cooperation – led by Hiba Zerrougui of the Political Science Department; and Understanding the Brain, An Introduction to Neuroscience to be presented by Joseph Rochford, Director of the Integrated Program in Neuroscience.
Since McGill is a world-renowned centre for the advancement of the study of the brain, the neuroscience component is expected to be a big draw.
Organizers of the program say the whole experience will be framed by around-the-clock supervision and mentoring in a safe, supportive and inclusive environment.
Grade 10 and 11 students will live the McGill life for two weeks – going to classes, living in residence, eating in dining halls, and interacting with older students – against the backdrop of summer in Canada’s most fascinating and bilingual city.
Classes will be complemented by visits to Montreal’s historic sites and vibrant cultural scene during the height of festival season. Students will be able to experience Just for Laughs, fireworks, Fantasia, dragon boat racing, and the Kahnawake Pow Wow among other events under way in mid-July.
Summer Academy students will stay in the largest undergraduate downtown residence: New Residence Hall. “New Rez” is situated in the heart of the tree-lined, limestone triplexes of the Milton Parc Community, minutes away from Montreal’s lively downtown. It’s also on the edge of the hip Plateau neighbourhood deemed by Spin, Pitchfork and the New York Times as the hotbed of Montreal indie music, cultural diversity and all things cool. The Plateau is where students and their parents will find relaxed cafés, designer boutiques, inspiring art, video game developers and arguably the best bagels and smoked meat sandwiches in the world.
Life in New Rez features double-occupancy, fully furnished rooms, with a small fridge and television.
On each floor students can relax in the lounge, or get together in the study lounge or lobby where there is a grand piano.
The template for the Summer Academy program was created two years ago, when a successful pilot project attracted 200 16-year-old International Baccalauréat students from across Canada and around the world to campus.
The Summer Academy will run during some of the most beautiful and verdant weeks of the Montreal summer, July 9 to 22. Admission opens Feb. 1 and closes May 1.