Top global and Australian companies are teaming up with schools, universities and government departments to revolutionise STEM education across the country.
The inaugural “Day of STEM”, which kicks off in Melbourne today, will see the launch of a ground-breaking cloud-based internet platform to be rolled out across the nation’s schools over the next 12 months.
The program will be run by LifeJourney, an online program for schools that allows students to test-drive future STEM careers and learn directly from top industry professionals.
LifeJourney CEO, Rick Geritz, explained to The Educator how principals looking to boost STEM education in their schools can benefit from the resources the initiative will be offering schools.
“Connecting what is taught in the classroom to the nation’s STEM leaders enables schools to inspire STEM education in a scalable way,” Geritz said.
“The Day of STEM platform enables every teacher to become a STEM teacher.”
This week, Westpac CEO Dave Curran called the online STEM mentoring resource a “nationally significant program” which would drive innovation in schools and enhance the nation’s competitiveness on the world stage.
Geritz said the biggest impact would be that every student in Australia gets a mentor and a direct connection to the nation’s role models by enabling youth to “live a day in the life” of their nation’s STEM leaders.
He added principals have an important role to play in encouraging students to identify their own skillset through STEM education, which in turn will ensure that a greater number of children get involved.
“Principals are key to this equation. The earlier that students understand their passion and develop key skills, the faster the STEM generation will develop,” Geritz said.