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In2science is thrilled to once again partner with Toyota Community Trust to expand and deepen our impact and help build In2science mentors’ leadership capacity. With Toyota’s generous support, In2science will recruit and train 34 additional university student mentors from our partner universities. In2science will also foster partnerships with 4 new schools, 2 in the west and 2 in regional/rural Victoria, enabling us to reach up to 240 extra students per semester. Building on a successful project funded by Toyota in 2019, In2science mentors will increase STEM engagement, promoting STEM career aspirations and increasing understanding of connections between STEM curriculum and careers.

This grant will also enable In2science to establish a Mentor Leaders Program, providing an opportunity for 25 returning and experienced In2science mentors to accelerate their leadership capacity by supporting a designated group of new In2science mentors who are completing their first placement. Excitingly, In2science mentors will be matched with a STEM professional so that they can further enhance their understanding of the myriad STEM career pathways available. This additional mentoring tier will help to bridge the missing links between STEM Industry, universities and schools, for deeper awareness of STEM careers.

In2science is one of eight organisations to have received funding in 2021 to encourage young people to pursue STEM-related study and careers. The Toyota Community Foundation STEM grants forms an ongoing legacy since the closing of manufacturing operations in Australia.

It has been twelve months since In2science mentors stepped foot in Victorian classrooms. This time last year, schools across Victoria were met with the monumental challenge of shifting their curriculum online because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some In2science mentors were lucky enough to visit students twice before the state was plunged into a lockdown that lasted a total of 111 days.

This year, the mood is significantly improved. Mentors met each other for training in-person for the first time on campus. More importantly, they were excited to be allowed back into the classroom.

Catriona Vi Nguyen-Robertson, a PhD candidate in Microbiology and Immunology at the Peter Doherty Institute with The University of Melbourne, is mentoring at Maribyrnong College. After her first session she said she is most looking forward to “sharing my passion for science with the students…and of course, singing songs about their studies!”.

Software Engineering student, Kazi Kabir spent his first session chatting about his experience at La Trobe University. He answered lots of questions about computer science, including how Minecraft is related to the field. “I had a great time with the kids!… Definitely a win”, he said.

Joseph Araniakulathil who is mentoring a Year 8 science class at St Peter’s College, Cranbourne had a successful week too. As a student completing Biomedical Engineering at Swinburne University of Technology, he was keen to see that the students had a general curiosity about science, which made engaging with them so much easier.

“I had a wonderful first session with my Year 7 class at Coburg High School working on classification systems for biology”, says Elowen Amos from The University of Melbourne. Elowen studies Geology so she was excited when the students had lots of questions about the subject, including what the oldest rocks are and if she has seen any of them.

Teachers are noticing a difference in engagement already. Lakshmi Sharma, the teacher of Elowen’s class sent glowing feedback to In2science’s coordinator at The University of Melbourne, Hayden Dalton, saying that Elowen’s presence has been wonderful. “The kids love her and was just brilliant with them”, Lakshmi glowed. Because of Elowen’s experience in geology, Lakshmi also confirmed she will be talking to the Year 9s separately about rocks and volcanoes for a lesson in their Earth Sciences unit, “the kids are going to love it to have an expert person talk to them – she is such a superstar!”

So far, 94 mentors will be going into classrooms in metropolitan Melbourne, a huge positive difference compared to the challenging circumstances of last year. We look forward to their success stories and the advice they will pass onto new mentors who sign up to future semesters with In2science. It is a great achievement to be back doing what we love and sharing the amazing things STEM has to offer in everyday life and beyond school.

As the huge challenges associated with COVID-19 became apparent 12 months ago, In2science swung into action to ensure that we could continue supporting schools, teachers and students. As everyone grappled with the impacts of social-distancing restrictions, remote learning and elevated anxiety levels, In2science consulted with mentors and teachers, and developed a range of options to offer schools our support.

Adapting the program and upskilling our mentors so that they could continue mentoring online ensured that In2science could continue to foster students’ enthusiasm for STEM. As such, In2science placed 239 mentors in 55 partner schools, reaching 2,314 students.

The In2science mentors’ unwavering commitment to supporting teachers and students, all the while facing their own challenges, is reflected in the outstanding feedback received.

Consistent with past evaluations, 92% of teachers noticed students engaged more in the lesson with a mentor present, with 93% agreeing that the mentor was a good role model for students. Importantly, teachers who hosted mentors last year were immensely grateful for the mentors’ presence, resulting in a Net Promoter Score–characterised as a measure of how likely a teacher is to recommend the program to a colleague–of 100, the maximum possible score.

The support mentors received from teachers and In2science coordinators is also reflected in the exceptional feedback provided. In 2020, In2science mentors’ adaptability, commitment and professionalism was on display. Indeed, 97% of mentors agreed that In2science developed skills they will use in the future, with 85% feeling that they had a positive impact during their placement.

Ultimately, the impact on students was dramatic, with 77% of students who interacted with a mentor realising that everyone can study science. Importantly, the evidence is clear: the frequency of interaction with a mentor has a significant positive impact on students’ attitudes towards science and maths, and STEM study (see below).

Once again, In2science would like to express our sincere gratitude for the commitment and support of our outstanding partner schools, teachers and mentors, especially throughout these most challenging of times.

It is the middle of yet another challenging semester where Melbourne remains in lockdown. Exams are looming and placements will soon be wrapping up for the year. Apart from small picnics with close friends, there are few other things besides falling COVID-19 cases to look forward to. However, the In2science team always have something up their sleeves. To lift spirits and connect with our outstanding community of volunteer university student mentors, we organised an online event that celebrated the enthusiasm, diverse experiences and incredible minds of this huge, multi-university family.

Forty-five mentors from La Trobe University, The University of Melbourne, Swinburne University of Technology, RMIT University and Monash University spent a Thursday evening online to partake in a few hours of laughter and friendly competition. The session was hosted by our talented University of Melbourne coordinators, Hayden Dalton and Julia Cleghorn, who began the proceedings by randomly creating small groups of mentors from our partner universities. This was a unique challenge for participants because it is a rare thing to partner up with people you don’t necessarily know in social gatherings. However, one of the amazing benefits of the In2science program is that it brings together like-minded individuals from multiple universities in a space to interact where they would not normally.

Each group created a team name and participated in games and quizzes to test their diverse general knowledge and STEM skills. The prize was worth competing for; UberEats vouchers and potential free dinners were at stake! Once the winning team was crowned the next item on the agenda was something the other In2science coordinators were not looking forward to.

For the remainder of the evening, each In2science University Coordinator was invited to share their university and STEM journey in one minute before throwing themselves at the mercy of the mentors in the room. Mentors were invited to ask anything of their coordinators, and In2science Director, Alison Every fielded the questions to an eager crowd.

Two hours went by in a blink of an eye. In2science mentors and coordinators learned much from each other and felt more connected than ever. For a few hours the challenges of the year were forgotten, and we were reminded of what we can look forward to when they are finally behind us.

Thank you to everyone who participated in our special event, it was a memorable experience that In2science hopes to replicate as soon as we can – and in person, too.

CSL Behring Broadmeadows, an arm of the global biotechnology leader CSL, has announced a 4 year partnership with In2science to enhance the delivery of STEM peer-mentoring to local schools in the Hume community.

The partnership is the first of its kind for CSL Behring Broadmeadows, who will now support In2science in providing schools the City of Hume additional STEM university mentors and outreach opportunities. With CSL Behring as an official partner of In2science, more than 150 lower secondary school students in Melbourne’s outer north-western suburbs will be supported over the next 4 years. To complement the In2science program, CSL Behring’s highly skilled STEM employees will head into classrooms and encourage science and mathematics students to consider the vast STEM career opportunities available after university.

In2science Program Director, Alison Every is thrilled CSL Behring is an official partner to the program. “Having corporate partners such as CSL Behring allows In2science to recruit more student mentors, provide better learning outcomes to the students they help teach in the classroom, and ultimately encourage school students to study STEM subjects in the future” she said.

“We are really excited to harness the knowledge and experience of CSL Behring’s people to enhance the In2science program for students in the Broadmeadows area,” she said.

CSL Behring’s parent company, CSL, proudly sponsored In2science’s 2019 Annual Awards, and we are is looking forward to working collaboratively with CSL Behring Broadmeadows over the next four years to deliver and further improve the In2science program for students in the Hume community.

To find out more about how Industry partnerships can support STEM engagement for secondary school students, please contact In2science Program Director, Dr Alison Every.

In2science is delighted to announce that the Howmet Aerospace Foundation is funding our peer-mentoring program to support more secondary school students in south-east Melbourne in 2021.

In 2019, In2science recruited and trained more than 300 mentors who mentored over 5000 students. Thanks to the Howmet Aerospace Foundation, In2science can now recruit and train an additional 20 university student mentors who will be placed in up to 10 low socio-economic (SES) schools in south-east Melbourne in 2021. This will help In2science increase STEM engagement and career aspirations for more than 350 Victorian secondary school students.

The Howmet Aerospace Foundation is the charitable arm of Howmet Aerospace, a leader in advanced engineered solutions, and invests in STEM education and development initiatives, particularly to increase access to STEM fields in underrepresented groups. Howmet Fastening Systems is based in south-east Melbourne. This partnership provides an opportunity for Howmet employees to participate in STEM engagement with our partner schools in a meaningful capacity. Importantly, students will have a better understanding of the tangible connections between the STEM curriculum and the myriad opportunities available when they pursue a rewarding career in STEM.

To find out more about how Industry partnerships can support STEM engagement for secondary school students, please contact In2science Program Director, Dr Alison Every.