Vigilant Futures

Yesterday, the Vigilant Futures team went down to Youth in Motion –a Montreal organization in the Little Burgundy area close to downtown – to donate seven fully-equipped computers to their cause.

Youth in Motion is the go-to afterschool spot for teens in Little Burgundy when they want to play basketball, need a tutoring lesson or just surf the web. It’s hard to surf the web when you don’t have a computer, or in Youth in Motion’s case, have to set up a schedule because they simply don’t have enough to meet the neighborhood demand!

The organization has been helping families in the area for the last 10 years through educational, recreational and cultural programs.  Although primarily for tees between the ages of 12-17, the center does a lot of good for the entire family through parent/family workshops that provide empowerment, education and support.

To donate or volunteer, click here.

To read our press release, click on http://www.vigilantfutures.com/media-news.

Every now and then something happens that pushes people to achieve some pretty incredible things. It happened to Steve Rousseau – your average eighth grade student at Saint-Henri High – except he wasn’t exactly making the honor-roll each semester. His dyslexia made that kind of tough and school wasn’t his priority until he heard about the FIRST International Robotics Competition.

The FIRST International Robotics competition sparked his interest and motivated Steve to join – and eventually lead – Saint-Henri’s team to create a soccer-playing robot and show off its stuff during the Toronto competition where they won the award for perseverance. It was the first time public schools from the Montreal area competed in the FIRST competition. Not a bad finish for some first-timers!

Steve worked on the robot every day after school and on weekends, and when the team finally got to Toronto, their robot exceeded regulation size by one centimeter. The team managed to enter their robot thanks to Steve’s quick thinking and some minor mods.

It’s fair to say the competition gave Steve a reason to try a little harder at school and a reason to care about his future now that he saw what it might hold. His grades have since improved and he won’t be dropping out anytime soon.

To read the original article that appeared in La Presse, follow the link below. The web page also includes a video interview with Steve and the Youth Fusion-sponsored university student that helped the kids on the project.

http://www.forcesavenir.qc.ca/secondaire/finaliste_view/3233

(original blog: http://blog.vigilantfutures.com)

April 7, 2010

MONTREAL, April 7 /CNW Telbec/ - Youth Fusion is pleased to announce that, during the FIRST International Robotics Competition held in Toronto last weekend, Pierre-Dupuy High School received the Judges Award for Perseverance. While Saint-Henri High School made it all the way to the semi-finals.

These four robots will be presented to the Montreal public during the CSDM's Symposium de science et technologie to be held at the Montreal Science Centre located at 333, rue de la Commune ouest:

Thursday, April 8, 2010 from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm

Robots: Henri-Bourassa and Pierre-Dupuy high schools

Friday, April 9, 2010 from 9:00 am to 2 :00 pm

Robots: Saint Henri and Honoré Mercier high schools

For more information, go to: http://www.youthfusionquebec.org/en/robotics.php

For further information: Gabriel Bran Lopez, Executive Director - Youth Fusion, (514) 662-2183, gbl@youthfusionquebec.org

Original Release:
Montreal Youth Shine at the FIRST International Robotics Competition in Toronto

February 17, 2010

MONTREAL, Feb. 17 /CNW Telbec/ - Youth Fusion is thrilled to announce that BMO Financial Group-Quebec, Bell, Bombardier Inc., CAE, Hydro-Québec and Vigilant Futures have joined forces to send 45 Montreal students to FIRST, an international robotics competition.

In its long history, FIRST has never hosted Montreal public high school students. Thanks to the support of the official partners: Mr. L. Jacques Ménard, President of BMO Financial Group-Quebec, Mr. Laurent Beaudoin, Chair of the Board of Bombardier Inc., Mr. Thierry Vandal, President and CEO of Hydro-Québec, Mr. Stéphane Boisvert, President of Bell Business Markets, Mr. Marc Parent, President and CEO of CAE, and Mr. Arvind Ramanathan, Director of Vigilant Futures, four robots are currently under construction by 45 youth from four different high schools: Honoré-Mercier (CSDM), Pierre-Dupuy (CSDM), Saint-Henri (CSDM), and Henri-Bourassa (CSPI). Moreover, Mr. François Michaud, Canada Research Chairholder in Mobile Robotics and Intelligent Autonomous Systems, and Mr. John Charlton, Special Projects Manager at Loyola High School, are part of an extensive group of mentors who support the teams.

Mr. Ménard, Chair of Youth Fusion's board since November 2009, is pleased to realize that the business community "responded positively to this opportunity, as this competition is an ideal platform to promote technological innovation, scientific fields and the educational success of youth."

Youth Fusion is a non-profit organization that mobilizes universities to counter drop out rates. Last September, Youth Fusion announced that all of Montreal's universities had agreed to join forces to encourage kids to stay in school. Their formula is simple: Youth Fusion sends university students, working as project coordinators, into high schools to implement projects that motivate teenagers to stay in school, and strengthen their school spirit and sense of belonging.

For this robotics project, Youth Fusion hired four university students - two from l'École Polytechnique and two from l'École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS) - each student is assigned to one high school.

For further information, please visit:
www.youthfusionquebec.org/en/robotics.php

For further information: Gabriel Bran Lopez, Founder and Executive Director, Youth Fusion, (514) 657-7630,
gbl@youthfusionquebec.org

Original Release:
Building robots to counter drop out rates: BMO Financial Group, Bell, Bombardier Inc., CAE, Hydro-Québec and Vigilant Futures join forces to send 45 students to an international robotics competition

December 6, 2009

Sunday Dec 6, 2009

On-hand to express their thanks and welcome the Vigilant Futures team were ENCS Dean Robin Drew, CSE Department Chair Sudhir Mudur, who both expressed their deep gratitude for the gift. Said Dean Drew, ""The gift will help increase our credibility and help us attract high calibre students." Dr. Mudur supported this statement, warmly noting that, "our students come from all around the world and these new scholarships will help ease the financial burden of graduate studies."

Arvind Ramanathan, co-founder and co-director or Vigilant Futures also addressed the enthusiastic audience, which was mainly made up of international ENCS graduate students eager to hear about the new funding opportunities the scholarship would bring. Ramanathan, himself a Concordia Alum (BComm '01), reported that about 25 percent of the company's employees are Concordia computer science graduates. "Financial markets are looking for people like you," Ramanathan said to the 25 computer science students on hand, who he hoped might one day become Vigilant Futures employees. He said he was proud to be able to give back to the university that helped him launch his career. "I had a great time at Concordia, a wonderful experience," Ramanathan said.

In just four short years, Vigilant Futures has grown from a team of 3 to 50, with a staff dedicated to the company's mission of eliminating market inefficiencies wherever and whenever they exist. To learn more about the company, please visit their webiste www.vigilantfutures.com.

Original Release:
Vigilant Futures announces $20,000 donation for CSE grad scholarships