After the success of the 2018 pilot year of the sySTEMic Collaboration, Engineers Australia Northern is very excited to be running the program in Darwin again in 2019, including the highly anticipated launch of the program throughout schools in Alice Springs.

The sySTEMic Collaboration, created in response to the Engineers Make Things Happen Report of 2017, is an initiative that seeks to establish unique partnerships between industry, schools and tertiary education providers in order to engage students in the pipeline of engineering careers.

Specifically, the focus on supporting STEM outcomes in the NT arose from a number of aspects, including:

• Data related to the low engagement of students across STEM-related subjects;
• The unbalanced gender profile of the engineering profession; and
• The statistically small percentage of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people enrolled in engineering degrees.

So, how’s it going to work in 2019?

In both Darwin and Alice Springs, 16-20 students will be accepted into the program, and industry professionals will provide site visit partners and mentoring partners. The students will be divided into four groups, and each will devise a rural, contemporary or potentially futuristic problem that they’ll solve with the assistance of industry.  The students will then engage in a site visit, one problem solving activity site day, and a minimum of two off-site excursions throughout the course of the program.

Off the back of a productive and successful 2018 for the initiative, Engineers Australia is excited to advise that the sySTEMic Collaboration is a finalist for the Best STEM Program in the 2019 Australian Education awards.

This would not have been possible without the support of our Industry and Financial partners, and is a real testament to the collaboration between industry and education.

For more information about the sySTEMic Collaboration and the 2018 pilot year, head this way.