Student Engineers at Monash Uni inspire the next generation of engineers through Engage an Engineer.
What a delight to participate in Engage an Engineer last Monday at Monash Uni. Well done Robogals and Female Engineers at Monash (FEM) for hosting such an inspiring 2 days of activities that showcase the world of opportunities that can come through Engineering.
The timing of this event could not be better as students not only embark on a new school year but a brand-new decade. 150 Year 9 and 10 students have participated in workshops yesterday and Monday facilitated by engineering students that participate in Monash Engineering clubs and societies. Many of these clubs compete on the world stage and in some instances, are leading the “competition”. The caliber of these student members and their passion for engineering is really second to none. So inspiring!
The other highlight for me was witnessing Dangerous Minds (RTL Students in Years 9 and 10) doing their own outreach encouraging students to participate in First Tech Challenge (FTC) and more broadly FIRST. They are currently the only Victorian Team competing in a competition that has more than 6000 teams competing at just FTC worldwide.
Gemma Wildermuth, the team leader of Dangerous Minds competes in all three FIRST competitions, First Lego League (FLL), First Tech Challenge (FTC) and First Robotics (FRC). They set up the FTC field used in competition over lunch so students could get a taste of what the competition entails
Gemma and I co-presented on a panel that included Dana Kulic’, Professor at Monash and Emily Lok, President of Robogals Melbourne. It was fitting for Clare O’Neil, Shadow Minister for Innovation and Technology, Future of Work and a former student of Monash Uni to encourage the students to pursue STEM careers.
Once again, a huge thank you and congratulations to Robogals Monash and FEM for hosting such an inspirational event to kick off 2020!