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2008 ORION Discovery Award of Merit Recipient
Virtual Researcher on Call (VROC)
For the past two and a half years, more than 5,000 young Ontarians have had their appetites for science and innovation whet by opportunities to meet face-to-face with Canada’s top researchers, educators and scientists from around Canada without leaving their seats.
From left to right: Kevin Cougler, Ron Calhoun and Douglas Jones of Virtual Researcher on Call (VROC).
Virtual Researcher on Call (VROC) is a program that provides two-way video conferencing sessions between Ontario high school students and universities and research facilities in Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia in a virtual “show and tell”-type presentation—the first of its kind in Canada.
Pioneered by Partners In Research, a national Canadian charity established to educate the public about the history, importance, accomplishments and promise of health research, the program beams researchers and scientists directly into the classroom environment where they make 10 to 15 minute presentations on any of more than 100 scientific topics, followed by a 45-minute interactive discussion. Teachers select the topic to meet their curriculum and the number of topics continues to grow alongside teacher requests.
By using the latest in video conferencing, web software and advanced networking, VROC is able to substantially reduce the time commitment required for researchers to conduct such outreach to Ontario schools, giving them the opportunity to participate with the flexibility needed to meet their demanding schedules. According to Dr. Alan Bernstein, former president of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, VROC is Canada’s solution to our society’s reliance on carbon-based energy.
Ron Calhoun, Executive Director of Partners in Research, says a few words of thanks on behalf of the VROC team.
Presentation sessions are followed by opportunity for further questions and discussion, giving students an opportunity to learn more about the topics, or about careers in the natural and health sciences, technology, engineering or mathematics. By focusing on Grades 9 through 12, the program seeks to create greater awareness of, and interest in, the sciences from young Ontarians at a critical juncture of academic development and decision making.
Because of the power of video conferencing and reach of ORION’s network, VROC can also bring such highly impactful education sessions to youth in at-risk, rural or aboriginal communities that might traditionally have been overlooked.
To date, the organization has held 140 sessions on timely and significant topics ranging from the technology for fuel cells to understanding stem cells, and everything in between.
Since its first regular session in October of 2006, VROC has partnered with 36 school boards in Ontario and a diverse group of researchers from more than a dozen research partners that include the University of Ottawa, Carleton University, University of Western Ontario, the University of Toronto, the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, University of Calgary, Montreal’s Biosphere and the TRIUMF laboratory (Canada’s National Particle Physics Lab) located at the University of British Columbia. Video conferencing infrastructure and expertise for the program is provided through partnership with the Sheridan Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning, while Vesta Networks volunteers as a backup and bridges between ISDN and IP calls where required.
As VROC continues to grow it plans to expand the program to include students as young as kindergarten age in its mission to inspire interest from tomorrow’s leaders and scientists in its bid to contribute to maintaining the province’s momentum in the knowledge economy.
Learn more about VROC at www.vroc.ca.
Back to the 2008 Awards Winners page
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