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This year, with funding from the Toyota Community Trust, In2science impacted more than 800 secondary school students, building their enthusiasm for STEM and encouraging the pursuit of STEM careers, by placing 37 mentors in six schools in the western suburbs of Melbourne. 

The Toyota Community Trust was established in 2017 to honour the legacy of Toyota car manufacturing in Australia which concluded that year in Altona, Melbourne. The Trust was endowed with $32 million of which the interest every year goes towards STEM education initiatives in the west of Melbourne. 

At the recent In2science Annual Awards ceremony, Toyota Community Trust Board Director, Mr Damien Bayard remarked that In2science stood out to the Board of directors of the Trust as it delivers a three-way benefit –  to high school students, teachers and university students.

In addition to helping In2science extend its reach through more mentor placements in 2019, funding was also used to provide training to mentors, which enabled them to carry out career conversations with small groups of school students in the classroom. Mentors who participated in this pilot reported that facilitating these conversations was something they had always  wanted to do, however they had not had the training or found a mechanism to do it.

Seeking to equip mentors with the toolkit and mechanism to facilitate conversations about STEM careers, In2science selected and trained three mentors to participate in this pilot. Mentors liaised with the classroom teachers to select groups of students to participate and then guided them through a range of activities including:

• reflecting on their interests/skills and understand how science and maths relate to these
• identifying role models in their own life and how science and maths relate to those careers
• identifying study options that relate to their current interests/skills
• identifying the VCE subjects necessary to pursue the above courses
• gaining a clearer picture of jobs, careers and study pathways through ‘Accessing their Allies’, and
• identifying their networks.

The ‘STEM career sessions’ were piloted in Year 7 – 9 classrooms with 17 students (up to eight students per group) at Footscray City College, Laverton P-12 College, Bayside P-12 College. The impact on students’ knowledge and attitudes towards STEM careers was profoundly positive. One year 7 student noted, “I didn’t realise that science skills could be used in almost every job”. Another said, “There are so many more job options available I had never thought of before.” Despite the STEM focus, students also gained an appreciation for the breadth of courses available in higher education with one student quipping, “Wow, you can do arts and dance through university?”

As with all In2science’s STEM outreach activities, the aim is to provide maximum benefit to students, mentors and teachers. This initiative was no exception. Students experienced numerous benefits including: gaining confidence in planning and striving for a STEM-based career, acquiring practical advice on preparing resumes and identifying people within their networks that may be able to provide advice and assistance on career planning.

Mentors were challenged, but ultimately felt empowered to facilitate career discussions and thrived on the deeper connections they build with the students who participated.

Teachers appreciated the mentors’ input into career education and were grateful that mentors were able to introduce these ideas in such an informal and fun way. Importantly, mentors were also able to build upon the discussions about jobs in STEM that had already taken place in the classroom.

The great success of this pilot has encouraged In2science to roll out ‘STEM career sessions’ more broadly across more In2science schools. For more information about ‘STEM career sessions’ or In2science in general, please contact In2science Program Manager, Robyn Gamble.

In2science is grateful for the generous support of Toyota Community Trust.

Imagine if you were faced with a 14-year-old who asked, quite simply, “If you could go back and start university again, would you have done things differently?”. That’s exactly what KBR engineers had to grapple with when they sat down to talk with keen-eyed, enthusiastic high school students and their In2science mentors last month. At first, there was silence. And then, something amazing happened.

Earlier this year, global engineering firm, KBR, who is currently responsible for the removal of a number of railroad crossings in Melbourne, approached In2science because they wanted to be involved in the important work we are doing for high school students across Victoria. This presented an outstanding opportunity for our eMentoring program, as it involves regional students who are often significantly disadvantaged by distance, a lack of role models and a lack of resources.

And so, “Meet An Engineer with In2science” came to be, where early-career engineers could meet with our eMentees and talk about their engineering journeys. After a careful selection of student-mentor groups that we knew would be interested in the opportunities the world of engineering offered, the pilot was ready to launch.

Among the challenges the engineering industry faces, a major one is the lack of female engineers. Currently, women make up approximately 13% of the engineering workforce and only about  16% of students graduating with a university engineering degree are female. This year, Alesha Printz, General Manager, Victoria Division at Engineers Australia told the panel at In2science’s STEM Partnerships Forum that there is a “huge marketing issue for women” when it comes to pursuing a career in engineering. A lack of visible role models is a huge problem across all STEM education and career paths; this pilot afforded the ideal opportunity for female and regional high school students to talk to real engineers.

The brief was simple, get students curious and excited about the diverse world of engineering. Over the course of two weeks, six KBR engineers joined an eMentoring session to let mentors and students glimpse what it’s like to be an engineer. As with many first encounters there was some initial shyness to overcome, but within minutes the awkwardness dissipated, and the stories and questions began to flow.

Relating Minecraft and Lego to bridge building and world-making was a big hit, and students were especially excited when engineers shared projects they were working on because students are not necessarily aware of how many people with specialised skills are needed to construct things in an urban world. One group focused on moving long distances for work and the challenges you face when finishing university in search of employment, while another spent half an hour on the aesthetics of wind turbines and community engagement.

So, if you could go back and start university again, would you have done things differently? Every single session had a question like this one, and in each instance, there was silence at first. Even the mentors were stumped for a few seconds, as the question applied to them as well. It’s a good question. It’s a hard question, and the answer is never simple. However, students were not looking for the correct answer, they were looking for an honest answer, and all the KBR engineers and mentors gave them that. Life journeys change, and almost everyone did not follow the paths they started on at university. However, they all kept doing something that interested them, that made them excited. Each student loved this, and it removed much of the anxiety of choosing the right subjects for VCE or the right university course. It wasn’t about making the right decision for the rest of your life, it was about making a decision that opens doors.

The “Meet An Engineer with In2science” pilot provided high school students with a rare opportunity to speak to professionals on an even playing field and to receive reinforcement that even if life is challenging, if you do something that gets you excited, you are travelling on the right path. More so, our female students could speak to female engineers doing what they loved, showing that engineering is a relevant, attainable and highly desirable career path.

If you are interested in becoming an industry partner with In2science, email In2science Director Dr Alison Every ([email protected])

If you are interested in joining the In2science eMentoring program, Click here!

Students at Copperfield College

This April, In2science was thrilled to receive funding from the Toyota Community Foundation to reach even more western Melbourne students in 2019. Last year, In2science placed 291 mentors in Victorian schools and engaged almost 4500 high school students in STEM-related subjects. Thanks to Toyota Australia, we are now able to support 30 new mentors for six schools and support up to 300 Year 7-10 students in Melbourne’s West.

In addition to opening more mentorship spots within Victorian schools, this grant also enables us to develop additional training tools to support our mentors. By training mentors in more specific ways, students can benefit from deeper and more meaningful conversations about future study and career-planning in STEM related fields. These kinds of interactions are crucial to address barriers that prevent students from pursuing STEM-related studies while simultaneously enriching their STEM learning experiences in high school.

In2science is one of seven organisations to have received funding in 2019 to encourage young people in Melbourne’s West 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.

In semester 2, 2018, 146 In2science mentors from La Trobe University, RMIT University, Swinburne University of Technology and The University of Melbourne spent nearly 1500 hours working with over 2500 students in 46 schools. The valuable feedback we received from students, mentors and teachers confirmed that In2science is an effective, impactful program that can dramatically improve students’ attitudes towards STEM and STEM career pathways.

In week one of the semester 2 placement period, 57% of students reported that they were confident in understanding maths concepts; at the conclusion of the 10-week placement, this figure increased to 72% – a powerful demonstration of an In2science mentor’s capacity to improve students’ attitudes towards STEM. Moreover, students who interacted directly with the mentor experienced a dramatic increase in their attitudes towards STEM (see below).

Teachers continue to see the value and reap the rewards of hosting an engaged and enthusiastic In2science mentor with 90% of teachers agreeing that the mentor was a good role model for students. As a strong indication of the high regard in which this program as held, 100% of survey respondents indicating that they would like a mentor in the future.

The In2science experience continues to provide ample opportunity for mentors to give back to the community, with 100% of mentors reporting that they spoke about their own pathways, thereby demonstrating to secondary school students that studying STEM and pursuing STEM career pathways is accessible to all.

The benefits experienced through participation in In2science are not limited to students and teachers though, with 99% of mentors reporting that they developed skills they will use in the future.

Our sincere thanks to the students, mentors and teachers who took the time to provide their feedback, which enables us to deliver a highly effective program and increase student STEM engagement.

Exploring the science of slime with University of Melbourne mentors.

Did you know that last year, In2science mentors received more than 800 hours of training? This semester, 175 keen young STEM university students from our partner universities, La Trobe University, The University of Melbourne, RMIT University, Swinburne University of Technology and Monash University attended pre-placement training to equip them with the tools to connect with, and inspire, the next generation of STEM enthusiasts at our partner schools. In2science staff are routinely blown away by our mentors’ commitment, enthusiasm and creativity.

It’s not all serious, however, as mentors tried their hand at leading the group in a number of STEM activities, like slime production. We are excited to see what adventures are to be had for schools, students and mentors in semester 1, 2019 – all the very best of luck to our wonderful mentors!

RMIT University mentors ready for training.

Want to become an In2science mentor? Click here!