How can high school students discover the opportunities that come from studying statistical sciences? One way is by exploring statistical concepts through hands-on activities. Another is by connecting with university students and professionals who study and use statistics. Florence Nightingale Day lets them do both.
Florence Nightingale Day was launched in the U.S. in 2018 as an effort to introduce high school girls to statistics. Since then, it has become an international initiative celebrated at a number of institutions, including Ohio State University, Harvard University, and the University of Texas at Dallas. In Canada, CANSSI has organized events at Simon Fraser University (SFU) and the University of Toronto (co-sponsored with CANSSI Ontario) as part of a developing strategy to encourage high school students from traditionally under-represented and disadvantaged groups to study statistical sciences.
On Friday, February 9, 2024, CANSSI will partner with SFU’s Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science to host a Florence Nightingale Day event at the university’s Burnaby campus. More than 100 students from local high schools are expected to participate in statistics-based activities and to hear from student and career panels about the educational and career opportunities that statistics can provide.
Details of the SFU event—and a photo gallery from last year’s event—are available on the Florence Nightingale Day 2024 event page. Take a look!
CANSSI Ontario and the Department of Statistical Sciences at the University of Toronto are planning a similar event in Toronto on Saturday, March 2, 2024. For information about the Toronto event, visit the Florence Nightingale Day 2024 (Toronto) event page on the CANSSI Ontario website.
