TORONTO, Oct. 13, 2022 /CNW/ - Scotiabank is investing $1.6 million in the Rotman School of Management's Creative Destruction Lab (CDL) and becoming a founding partner of their CDL Apprentice Program, that will provide young women+ (including two-spirit, transgender and non-binary individuals) in high schools across Canada with exposure to career opportunities in STEM.

The program helps expand students' awareness of potential career paths and helps increase the probability that young women and students, including two-spirit, transgender and non-binary individuals, pursue opportunities in STEM, business and entrepreneurship. Funding will be used to broaden accessibility to the CDL Apprentice Program, driving CDL's mission to ignite greater gender diversity in these fields. Scotiabank's investment also includes a renewed sponsorship to advance programming within CDL's core program for science and technology-based start-ups in Canada. 

"CDL's Apprentice Program fills an important gap in helping to support students who want to learn about—and gain exposure to—careers in STEM," said Michael Zerbs, Group Head, Technology & Operations at Scotiabank. "Scotiabank is proud to be contributing to the future employment potential, and resilience, of young women+ from diverse regions across Canada."

With Scotiabank's sponsorship, CDL will offer travel bursaries to students attending high school in rural and underserved areas, providing education and mentoring opportunities for those who may not otherwise have access. It will also allow CDL to employ a dedicated staff member who will ensure every school across Canada is aware of the program.

"The CDL Apprentice program aims to spark curiosity and inspire students to imagine potential career pathways in STEM, business, and entrepreneurship," said Sonia Sennik, the Executive Director of CDL. "Our partnership with Scotiabank will allow us to reach more students across the country with this unique, immersive learning experience."

The CDL Apprentice Program provides an immersive, technology-focused learning experience for female-identified students in entrepreneurship and emerging technologies not explored in the high school curriculum including AI, FinTech, Blockchain, Health and Energy.

A selection of CDL apprentice students will be invited to a global symposium for International Women's Day hosted in Toronto in spring 2023. The summit will be a culmination of the CDL community, including world business leaders, leading scientists, engineers, economists, and start-up founders from around the globe, who will share valuable insights on frontier-edge technologies and their experiences in entrepreneurship. Click here to read more about the benefits of CDL's Apprentice Program.

Applications for the CDL Apprentice Program's 2022/23 cohort are now open to young women+ students (including two-spirit, transgender and non-binary individuals) between 14 and 18 years of age. To apply, contact apprentice@creativedestructionlab.com.

About Scotiabank
Scotiabank is a leading bank in the Americas. Guided by our purpose: "for every future", we help our customers, their families and their communities achieve success through a broad range of advice, products and services, including personal and commercial banking, wealth management and private banking, corporate and investment banking, and capital markets. With a team of over 90,000 employees and assets of approximately $1.3 trillion (as at July 31, 2022), Scotiabank trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: BNS) and New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: BNS). For more information, please visit http://www.scotiabank.com and follow us on Twitter @Scotiabank.

About Creative Destruction Lab
Creative Destruction Lab (CDL) is a seed-stage program, founded in 2012 by Professor Ajay Agrawal at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management, which connects deep science-based ventures with serial entrepreneurs, angel investors and venture capitalists to build massively scalable companies. Founders of science and technology-based start-ups are mentored by experienced entrepreneurs, investors and thought leaders to hone their company's mission and increase its likelihood of success. CDL now operates five sites in Canada, three in the United States and four in Europe.

SOURCE Scotiabank