Indigenous school students with a passion for science and engineering are being given a taste of university life at ANU.
The week-long National Science and Engineering Summer School for Indigenous students will give 17 year-10 and year -11 students from around Australia a chance to take part in hands-on activities across all science and engineering disciplines.
“The Summer School is a great opportunity for the world-leading educators in the sciences at ANU to share their knowledge with our young people, and to inspire them to look at sciences as an important avenue of study,” said Anne Martin, Director of the Tjabal Indigenous Higher Education Centre.
“This is a fantastic opportunity for these young people, but it is just as important for our academics to have real engagement with Aboriginal communities.
“When our young people from rural, remote, and urban areas come together, they inspire us here at ANU. Engaging with global issues can inspire these students for the future so they can take these lessons back to their communities.”
The theme for the Summer School is “global challenges”. Students with have the opportunity to grapple with issues like global health and climate change.
At the end of the week, the students will give group presentations on what they found most interesting and discuss how these global challenges effect their community.
“This program is important because it highlights the wide range of interesting topics that science deals with,” said Stephanie Pollard, an Aboriginal medical student studying at ANU.
“Science isn’t just about wearing lab coats and doing experiments. There are so many sides to science, from engineering to medicine and the environment. It can be really interesting and exciting.
“I did a similar program when I was in high school and it ignited an interest in medicine for me.”
Stephanie has helped plan the program and will support the students during their visit.