25/08/2023
We were pleased to be able to sponsor this recent Whitsunday STEM Challenge event, held at Whitsunday Anglican School. The quality of speakers and the experiences they shared was so impressive, and they truly gave the students in the audience a taste of what a future life in STEM could look like for them. MC Councillor Michelle Green was delightful, and panel facilitator, Nicola Grobler, was outstanding in her ability to keep the conversation flowing and pull out key points to further explore with the panel members.
We walked away full of confidence that the future of STEM is clearly in great hands!
THE Whitsunday STEM Challenge celebrated National Science Week celebrations with a special Women in STEM event.
The event aligned with the national theme of Innovation: Powering Future Industries.
Event coordinator Leanne Williams said Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) was important for students in this contemporary world with the rise of new technologies.
“Students need to learn the ability to understand and apply data and develop solutions to complex problems and this event aims to encourage an interest in science pursuits, especially among our young women,” Leanne said.
“Our four special guest speakers discussed what it was that drew them to follow the career opportunities in their field and encourage the next generation to follow in their footsteps,” he/she said.
Mayor Greg Williamson said council was excited to support an important education event promoting women in STEM.
“It is exciting to think that our students of today will be working in fields that don’t even exist yet,” Mayor Williamson said.
“This event was amazing opportunity for our young adults to be inspired and become the next generation of innovators,” he said.
Guest speakers include keynote Felicity Furey (Power of Engineering founder), Bek Rhoades (mechanical/CPEng accredited), Emma Jones (Environmental Management), Kirtee Nadaraja (medical science) and many others.
Felicity Furey said it is so important to have events like this in regions to inspire the next generation into STEM so we can have the world designed by the people that live in it. This event showed how a foundation in STEM and a STEM mindset can take you places you never expected. We showcased the opportunities of where a STEM careers from mega infrastructure to helping people, being creative and designing every aspect of the world around us.
Students also had the opportunity to try Virtual Reality, Robotics, Drones, police forensics and could link with local Women in various STEM careers.
Thank you Becker Sunner Consulting Greater Whitsunday Alliance BHP Mackay Regional Council