Phew. I’m glad it's Friday and I’m sitting still for a second because it feels like I have been constantly moving all week. There is a reason for this of course, we ran part 2 of STEM Academy: Engineering which is a brand new program we launched in Term 2 at the Ballarat Tech School. The objective of this new series of programs (we’re looking at building out the Academy with Maths next year, then Science and Technology) is to introduce students to different types of engineering fields through engagement with industry professionals and to explore different pathways to get there.
Over the four day program (two in Term 2 and two in Term 3) we’ve probably created one of the most intensive exposures to industries ever. The feedback we got from a representative from Engineering Education Australia (industry body for Engineers), who was a special guest was “I was so impressed with your program, your outstanding teaching, the preparation, the incredible facilities, and how engaged the students were. It was a very uplifting experience to have been a part of it.”
This is testament to my colleague and mentor Kirstyn Hall who developed the program and to all the awesome professionals who gave their time so generously. This term we headed out to Gekko Systems and got 5 of their engineers to show small groups of students what they do for a job and more importantly from our perspective, to explain how they got there.
The pathways to becoming an Engineer are so numerous that I’ve never heard the same story twice, and now I know a surprisingly large number of engineers. From an education angle you can go through University, TAFE/Polytechnic or do an apprenticeship. Every Engineer we spoke to at Gekko had come through a different path to end up in their current position which is exactly what we wanted our students to witness.
When I was 15 I had no idea what I wanted to do. When I thought of any profession, it was always daunting because you only ever saw an adult, who was good at it, doing it. The only reason I went down the design path was that an Art Teacher suggested I look into it because I was quite good. It was a passing comment at best but it was at least something to grab hold of and that was enough for me to start doing something - I basically needed a response when adults asked ‘what are you going to do after school’.
I had no exposure to different careers when I was in high school or I can’t remember doing it in any meaningful way. There was no work experience, other than actually having a job and I don’t even remember looking at many brochures for universities. Definitely none for Polytechnics or TAFES. That could’ve just been my experience or poor memory but even at university over a 4 year Bachelor Degree there was no work placement or experience. This isn’t the case now thank goodness.
All the 40 students we had in will be doing work experience somewhere in Year 10. We have lots of students who spend a week at the Tech School helping out where they can. It’s a tough gig to get right. Lots of businesses find it really hard to take a 15 year old on for a full week and give them a meaningful experience. We have developed a special program at the Tech School for that exact reason, making sure that there is always something for the students to do (they learn how to use the laser cutters and 3D printers for example).
One of the Engineers at Gekko began as a work experience kid. The week he spent there sparked an interest he didn’t know he had and 20 years later he’s doing his dream job. As a young person who is unsure about what they want to do, especially in Year 9 and 10 when you're starting to make subject choices, it can be super intimidating. Lets not forget the added influence of what their pairs are doing, family expectations and what their school is telling them.
The best thing we can do, or at least what we’re trying to do with the STEM Academy, is to share as many experiences as possible in an engaging way. When passionate people talk about the projects they're working on, in the spaces they’re working on, it creates an authentic energy that hopefully will spark the students interest. Engineers aren’t necessarily renowned for their social skills so we have a few prep meetings in the lead up so they know what to expect.
We always start with a game to get to know each other - everyone hates an ‘ice breaker’ but I tell you what - without them we might as well not bring the students in at all. There needs to be a human connection at the beginning otherwise it’s just a bunch of adults talking to a bunch of kids. My favourite game at the moment is ID Numbers. With this game you get everyone to write their name along the top of an index card and then they can write 3 to 4 numbers that are important to them. So mine might be ‘Jess - 2 - 20- 293’. You then have to move around the room and find out what other people's numbers mean. We say people can try and guess but it's almost impossible.
The beauty of this game is that you only share the information you're comfortable sharing. My numbers are 2 - kids, 20 - years I’ve been living in Australia and 293 - weeks in a row I’ve written this very blog. If students are struggling we suggest that they use the number of siblings they have, their house number, or maybe how many pets they have.
Lots of the sporty kids use their jersey numbers or numbers of their favourite players. These little insights offer an invitation to ask who they play for or what their pets' names are. You don’t need to walk out of this exchange as best mates but it's a nice way to connect before we get the actual activity underway. Lots of students find common interests with each other as well which is nice.
Our mentors enjoy the experience, having gained a glimpse into a generation they might not have had much to do with. What it means for the rest of the session is that students are more confident to ask questions because they have asked a few already. The ice has been officially broken. Our Engineers also feel more comfortable knowing the students and a little about them before they set off for the tour.
In our prep meetings we explained to our engineers that our main objective is for the students to see the pathway they took to get where they are today. Lots of industry tours are about showcasing the success stories but we want the raw reality. The dropping out of uni because you hated it. Falling into something because there was nothing else. The fact you did it because your friend's Dad gave you a job. There is so much expectation that students should have a clear idea on what they want to do but I guarantee that EVERYONE'S story to where they are now is scattered with miss steps and wrong turns.
This isn’t explained well to high school students. They just see the end result and don't get to see the many, many ways in which people arrive at their careers. If they understood the reality then I think it would take the pressure off making such a big decision at such a young age. There needs to be more gap years and working somewhere before deciding what you want to do. If I was going to become an engineer today I would do an apprenticeship first then figure out what industry I was interested in and continue studying through the work place.
There are so many different ways to go about an engineering career that we barely scratch the surface but we made a start. Some of the students will leave the Academy thinking that Engineering wasn’t what they thought it was and their interest will shift but the majority will leave with this new found focus on what they want to do. We concluded the program with a huge session on pathways and looked at the pros and cons of going to University vs TAFE/Polytechnic vs Apprenticeship. Again, something I would’ve benefited from at high school! I didn’t even know a bachelor was four years long when I signed up for it! Fool!
