YouAlberta
Tell us about Future Creators and what you and your team do!
Future Creators is a student group and non-profit organization that inspires technology innovators by providing youth with free resources, knowledge, and mentorship to build their own technology projects. We match university STEM students as mentors to mentees in grades 7-12, and teach them to build everything from solar chargers to robot arms to machine learning video games. We’ve reached over 200 mentees all across Canada, and even have international students!
What motivated you to found Future Creators?
As a kid, I loved technology and always wanted to build projects, but I could never figure out how to get started. When I came to the University of Alberta and experienced all the resources that are available to students—makerspaces, amazing faculty mentors, countless student groups—I found myself wanting to share those resources with the kids like me, who want to build a hands-on STEM project of their own. It’s really the idea of making STEM free and accessible for all youth, especially those who might not normally have access to these programs.
What advice would you give to someone that wants to venture into technology innovation but isn't sure how to start?
Join Future Creators! Just kidding (we’d love to have you though!). I think the best way is to connect with other people who are interested in technology innovation, and build something cool together. When you’re in a group of like-minded people, it’s a lot easier to find motivation and figure out next steps together.
What inspires you to help the next generation of engineers and technology innovators?
A lot of the same reasons that motivated me to found Future Creators—the desire to inspire the next generation of engineers and innovators, and also to make hands-on STEM programs more accessible. One of the main reasons I chose to go into engineering is because I believe that technology makes the future a better place by improving quality of life, and I hope that Future Creators can inspire youth who grow up into some of those technology innovators who create a better world for all of us.
What do you think are the biggest challenges facing young innovators right now?
I think one of the biggest challenges, which often ends up being the hurdle that keeps young people out of innovation and entrepreneurship, is balancing innovation with everything else in our lives. Young innovators have classes and part-time jobs, and trying to balance everything becomes super stressful. We need to remember to take time for ourselves!
Who is an innovator that you look up to?
I greatly admire Margaret Hamilton, who was the director of the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory’s Software Engineering Division and did a lot of incredible work developing software for NASA’s Apollo missions. There’s an amazing picture of her standing next to a stack of software listings she and her team worked on, and it’s taller than she is!
Outside of Future Creators, what are you working on or studying at the U of A?
I’m going into my last year of Electrical Engineering, and I’m currently on my last co-op term at Nokia. Other than that, I have my hands pretty full with Future Creators! Beyond our usual mentorship program, we’re working on becoming a registered charity and expanding to other universities.
Innovator Spotlight is a series that introduces you to students whose big ideas are making a big difference.
Do you know someone who’s breaking boundaries at the U of A? (Maybe it’s you!) We’re interested in hearing from students who are creating new solutions to make our world better, no matter their discipline or year of study.
Get in touch at youblog@ualberta.ca.
This interview has been edited for clarity.
About Angela (she/her)
Angela Wang is going into her fifth and final year of Electrical Engineering at the University of Alberta, and is the president and founder of the non-profit Future Creators. She has interned at Nokia and several energy companies, and plans to work in the renewable energy sector. Outside of technology and engineering, she also loves to read and write, and has written three fantasy novels.