Science and engineering under the microscope

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The Science and Engineering Challenge is presented by The University of Newcastle in cooperation with The Rotary Club of Bundaberg West.
The Science and Engineering Challenge is being presented by The University of Newcastle in cooperation with the Rotary Club of Bundaberg West.

The annual Science and Engineering Challenge begins this week in Bundaberg with more than 400 students from 13 schools participating.

Year 10 students from across Bundaberg will battle it out for a place at the State Super Challenge by building bridges, wiring cities, creating mars rovers, constructing earthquake-proof towers and building a bionic hand.

Year 6 students will also be participating in “Discovery Day” mini challenges designed to provide primary students with positive experiences of science and engineering.

Science professionals in demand

Over the next five years, employment is predicted to increase in technical services, professional and scientific careers by 14 per cent.

With STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) graduates in Australia making up only 18 per cent of the entire graduate cohort, the Science and Engineering Challenge inspires students to work in STEM careers.

It does this by providing a STEM experience that is very different to their school classrooms.

The students are encouraged to explore scientific principles for themselves rather than being guided to a predetermined answer.

The competition aims to encourage students in Year 10 to consider a future career in science and engineering by choosing to study the enabling sciences and mathematics in years 11 and 12.

The Science and Engineering Challenge is presented by The University of Newcastle in cooperation with The Rotary Club of Bundaberg West.

The two-day event will run on Tuesday, 7 May and Wednesday, 8 May at Bundaberg Recreational Precinct.

  • For more information about the challenge, visit the Facebook page.