Griffith University acknowledges that we are all living, learning and working on Stolen Land, and as such, reconciliation needs to be at the heart of everything they do. They recognise the importance of both students and academics alike expanding their worldview and knowledge of Indigenous perspectives. At Griffith University, Indigenous perspectives are not just introduced through a one-off lecture or module; they are meaningfully included in all aspects of the curriculum. 

Integrating Indigenous perspectives meaningfully requires skilled and knowledgeable academics committed to the authentic integration of these perspectives into the engineering and design curriculum. One such academic is Jennifer Campbell. Jennifer is a proud Aboriginal woman and Lecturer, working with Griffith University at the School of Engineering and Built Environment. Jennifer is passionate about bringing together culture and engineering, stating that it’s important to acknowledge “Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples as the first engineers…[who] have been engineering this landscape for a very long time.” Jennifer wants students to learn that including and understanding Indigenous perspectives is not only important, but ultimately leads to better design solutions. 

In order to solve the many problems that the world is facing, it’s crucial that future engineers are able to create user-centred and fit-for-purpose design solutions that meaningfully reflect thousands of years of Indigenous engineering knowledge and perspectives. At Griffith University, students are taught to understand that a good design solution is designed with, and not for, community. The importance of this partnership is emphasised throughout the course, with students given many opportunities to explore, reflect and discuss Indigenous perspectives.

We are all learning

Griffith University is passionate about creating a learning environment that is built on mutual respect and trust. Dr Ruby Michael, an academic at Griffith University, believes that one of the best ways to help students and academics build confidence in engaging with Indigenous perspectives is to remind them that “we are all learning”. Moving away from the traditional hierarchical teaching model and towards a collaborative learning experience helps to create a safe, reflective learning environment, where students feel supported to build their cultural competency. Dr Michael believes that encouraging Indigenous perspectives so early on in the course is beneficial for first-year students who are still building their identities as engineers. Such discussions enrich their worldview, giving them important foundational skills and knowledge that they can come back to as they progress through their studies. Dr Michael states that the case studies explored in the Cape York EWB Challenge helped to provide moments for staff and students alike to reflect on their cultural competency, and actually served as a catalyst for Griffith University to further explore and engage with Indigenous perspectives. 

How do you embed Indigenous perspectives?

In 2020, academics from Griffith University led a research study that outlined the practical ways that Indigenous perspectives can be embedded into an engineering curriculum. The research utilised the EWB Challenge’s Cape York homelands and outstations context and partnered with the Centre for Appropriate Technology. The research found that a combination of in-studio discussions, presentations, real-world case studies, industry engagement and discussions with Indigenous people, helped to introduce first-year students to new world-views and ways of thinking. The practical elements, combined with critical reflection and self-assessment, were important tools that helped to build students’ knowledge of Indigenous perspectives.  Students have reported feeling an increase in their cultural competency, with one student attributing this to the safe learning environment which fostered a persistent sense of “eagerness and curiosity” within them. 

Further to this, the research found that the EWB Challenge was an important vessel for students to be introduced to Indigenous Knowledge and Perspectives on engineering. The EWB Challenge helps students to build cultural competency from quite early on in their studies, and to learn how social and cultural factors influence the design process, introducing them to the many social, cultural and environmental responsibilities of an engineer.

This research further highlighted how the EWB Challenge program can enable students to develop their engineering competencies, beyond the academic and technical side of their learning. Through the case studies that form part of the content of the EWB Challenge, students develop key competencies by considering how social, environmental and cultural factors influence the design process. The case studies presented in the Cape York EWB Challenge introduce historical and current examples of Indigenous engineering. These case studies help to open their minds to new perspectives and introduce them to the importance of user-centred design. 

A snapshot of some student reflections, provided by Griffith University

By embedding Indigenous perspectives into the engineering curriculum, emerging engineers are encouraged to be culturally conscious and to take a community-centred approach to their design solutions. To address the Sustainable Development Goals, it’s essential that engineers develop skills to create collaborative relationships with communities. 

Building academic confidence

Universities are actively shaping future engineering communities. In order to tackle pressing global issues like food insecurity and climate change, it’s crucial that all universities work to integrate the perspectives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The research from Griffith University serves as a great resource, providing educators with many practical ways to meaningfully embed Indigenous perspectives into their curriculum. EWB is committed to supporting academics to introduce Indigenous perspectives into their curriculum, because there is no technology that benefits all without reconciliation first.

You can find out more about the EWB Challenge here.

This article is produced as part of our RAP commitment to communicating our learnings and sharing case studies from implementing our RAP.

The post Embedding Indigenous perspectives at Griffith University appeared first on Engineers Without Borders Australia.

Unlike many other states across Australia, the event was held in-person and not online, hosted at the University of Western Australia. The event included a panel discussion and two interactive activities, showcasing how human-centred engineering is contributing to positive social outcomes. 

Panel discussion

The panel discussion kicked off the night, with three professionals well-versed in human-centred design, discussing how they use this thinking to make a positive impact on society.

Louis Clarke and Liam Richer, the co-founders of Humanitarian Engineering International Placements (HEIP), began the panel discussion. HEIP is a for-purpose development organisation providing valuable engineering resources across the world. By coordinating workplace opportunities with international humanitarian engineering organisations, participating engineers make a real difference to communities across the world. Partnering with experts in engineering from some of EWB Australia’s international colleagues including EWB Argentina, EWB Chile, and EWB Brazil, HEIP empowers vulnerable communities and inspires engineers for the future.

Liam and Louis were joined by Katie Dunn, a digital strategy consultant for JourneyOne. With a background in business development for human-centred design, Katie shared insights on how to enhance public messaging related to human-centred engineering. Alongside public messaging, Katie evaluates the community impact of business decision making. Frequent evaluation ensures human-centred design remains a centre-focus of organisational strategy, no matter the industry.

With many attendees looking ahead to their professional engineering future, the panellists shared valuable advice for navigating early-career engineering. The panellists shared their experiences transitioning from university to impactful work in the humanitarian engineering sector.

Human-centred engineering leading to real-life solutions 

Participants observing the medical imaging activity

After gaining inspiration from the keynote speakers, attendees were immersed in an hour of activities exploring the importance of human-centred engineering in solving everyday problems.

Activities included a medical imaging workshop run by the Biomedical Engineering Society, and a walk-through using 3D printers to create parts of a water tank, hosted by the UWA Makers, a club that encourages students to get involved in practical engineering and making. 

Alongside the networking opportunity for the attendees with industry professionals, the event highlighted the array of opportunities available to students across a variety of engineering disciplines. 

The opportunities really are endless; whether it be in the volunteering or professional industry sector. EWB’s UWA Chapter is continually welcoming like-minded individuals to join the team that is using technology to benefit all. You can find your local chapter here. 

The post Inspiring a future generation in human-centred engineering appeared first on Engineers Without Borders Australia.

This unique partnership between EWB Australia and our EWB counterparts in South Africa and the UK is the first of its kind since the successful Australian-born EWB Challenge concept was picked up and developed by other EWB organisations globally. The partnership means that double the number of students in their very first year of university will deeply engage with the role of engineering and engineers in developing solutions alongside Australia’s First Nations people.

The Engineering for People Design Challenge program is an international design initiative for university students that is delivered in partnership by Engineers Without Borders South Africa and Engineers Without Borders UK. This partnership will bring the latest EWB Challenge context and community partner, Centre for Appropriate Technology, to its cohort of 10,000 students at 43 universities across South Africa, the UK, Ireland, and the USA. Both programs are tailored to present students with an opportunity to design creative solutions to real-world challenges and in doing so, enable students to grapple with the fundamentals of design and the role of engineering in human development.  

Each year, EWB creates a new series of challenges which are co-designed with a community partner, and this year that partner is the Centre for Appropriate Technology (CfAT). CfAT is an Aboriginal and Torres-Strait Islander controlled not-for-profit organisation which ‘exists to support people in regional and remote Australia in the choices they make in order to maintain their relationship with Country’. The design brief tasks students with exploring appropriate technology which can support traditional owners living and thriving on homelands and outstations, with a focus on CfAT’s work with communities in the Cape York region of Far North Queensland. Each brief is meticulously researched on location and led by community needs. Extensive documentation, interviews, and multimedia assets are provided to students to ensure a rich, deep insight into the life and challenges of that community. Live stakeholder engagement opportunities are also offered during the semester-long program.

Today’s university students will be entering their careers in a rapidly-changing world facing complex global challenges and must be introduced to the skills required to navigate this complexity from the day they begin their study. Future technical professionals must be enabled to explore and grow a broad skill set alongside an understanding of the role they might play in addressing the interconnected social, environmental, and economic challenges facing our world. The EWB Challenge program enables university academics to build the competencies of first-year students in areas such as professional practice, design processes, and sustainable development theory through engagement in these real-world project briefs. These programs support the tertiary sector in the delivery of curriculum-integrated and career-relevant applications to theoretical study, and present a clear pathway for students to develop future-fit professional skills and their personal engineering vision.  As ideas are shared back with the community partner for potential future development, it also enables students the opportunity to devise a solution that might be practically applied.

The partnership demonstrates the continuing demand for engineering students to learn with sustainable development principles as part of their education so they have the socio-technical skills to solve real-world complex challenges when they enter the sector. EWB Australia is excited to continue to use meaningful collaborations as ways to positively impact students, universities, the engineering profession and our community partners, both locally and globally.

The post International universities engineering with First Nations communities appeared first on Engineers Without Borders Australia.

Jeremy himself had always had an interest in humanitarian causes. In 2005 as a research engineer working in the automotive and aerospace industries, he went along to a meeting of the fairly newly formed EWB ACT Chapter. He was interested in learning about EWB, but really didn’t see how it could apply to his area of work. Keen to show support of the Chapter, he attended the inaugural EWB National Conference. It was there, while listening to a speech about solar cookers in Malawi, that Jeremy had a lightbulb moment that would shape his career and the emergence of humanitarian engineering at ANU.

Lightbulbs, camera, action!

The speech, which talked about the need to involve local communities in co-designing solutions to local problems, aligned with what Jeremy had been working on in the automotive manufacturing sector. He realised his mindset was all wrong – his experience in systems engineering actually meant that he had lots to contribute.

Jeremy teaching at the ANU

Jeremy became an active chapter member, taking up the role of ACT Chapter Secretary and eventually President. He volunteered in the EWB office, which led to a role as a part-time member of EWB’s staff in the education team.

At that time, EWB had a handful of programs that were offered to universities – an undergraduate Research Program, the EWB Challenge and the School Outreach volunteering program. But Jeremy saw an opportunity to link these elements together more formally. 

One Friday afternoon Jeremy sat down with his then colleague, Lizzie Brown, and together they developed a formal university partnership program. What they created that Friday afternoon became the foundation of ANU and EWB’s long-lasting partnership. It was also the catalyst for what has now become a multi-layered partnership program that engages universities across Australia and New Zealand each year.

The origin story

When Jeremy first pitched the formal university partnership program idea to ANU, the university saw the benefits straight away. At the same time that Jeremy took the proposal to ANU, Lizzie was pitching it to the University of Queensland. In 2010 the two universities became EWB’s first formal university partners. Jeremy says ANU was excited about the partnership because of EWB’s reputation in the social impact space. 

“There weren’t many organisations in engineering or technology that had a national profile for doing that kind of engagement. It opened up new opportunities for students – both within the student experience and in what was being taught. It allowed ANU to open up how people view engineering,” reflects Jeremy.

ANU’s engineering undergraduate degree has a systems engineering basis. Jeremy says this basis made the inclusion of humanitarian engineering education easier. Not satisfied with initiating the partnership, Jeremy wanted to help actually implement it within the university. He was inspired to work out how to embed humanitarian engineering education at ANU, and completed a Graduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning to aid its implementation. 

In 2015, ANU collaborated with EWB to offer the first dedicated later-year humanitarian engineering elective in Australia. In the same year, Jeremy started a PhD in humanitarian engineering education, which he says surfaced the evidence that has now spawned the exciting developments in humanitarian engineering education that we’re now seeing at other universities. 

ANU alumn Becky Watts (right)

Two of the first students to graduate through the new humanitarian engineering final-year elective at ANU were Becky Watts and Darien Colbeck. Becky and Darien had been forging their own way before ANU had a formal minor on offer. Becky was inspired to take the humanitarian engineering pathway after participating in the EWB Challenge, where Jeremy, as lecturer, gave a talk on composting toilets. Becky’s undergraduate experience with ANU and EWB led to a role straight out of university as a Project Facilitator for EWB Australia’s Appropriate Technology initiative in Cambodia. Darien went straight to working for a local disability organisation. Seeing the kind of engineering vision that Becky and Darien were exploring through their first graduate positions was the moment when Jeremy thought: we’re onto something.

Today, the partnership with ANU is one of EWB’s longest and richest university partnerships. ANU now offers a formal minor in humanitarian engineering, which is attracting more and more socially conscious students.

A minor achievement

Adele van der Winden is one student who has taken up the minor. She was studying her undergraduate engineering degree at Queensland University of Technology (QUT), and was compelled to additionally complete the humanitarian engineering minor at ANU. Travelling from Brisbane for Canberra in 2019 turned out to be a great decision. 

“The minor stood out at the time, as it’s quite rare for universities to offer an entire minor, or more, in humanitarian engineering. I was drawn to ANU’s Humanitarian Engineering minor for a variety of reasons, ranging from the wide selection of subjects it offers, to how well it would complement my QUT degree course structure,” says Adele.

For Adele, the course went beyond gaining technical engineering knowledge. She liked that it explored the fundamental issues behind the need for humanitarian engineering. ANU’s minor involves subjects in sociology and social sciences, which she says were initially intimidating. These subjects, though, ended up being a pivotal learning experience.

“They encouraged me to cultivate the critical thinking skills needed to understand the complexities and challenges of development, unpack global issues such as climate change and poverty, and really make me consider where my place – as someone hoping to work in this field – might be,” says Adele. “For engineers working in the humanitarian engineering space, it’s this contextual, non-technical knowledge which is perhaps less readily available to us – but no less critically important.”

With the humanitarian engineering minor under her belt, Adele was selected as a 2021 EWB Influencer Fellow, the perfect opportunity, to build on that foundation.

“The skills I gained from my minor, and the skills I am currently learning from the EWB Influencer Fellowship, I believe, will be abundantly formative in helping me choose and navigate my career path. For me, that career path is not yet well defined, but thanks to this minor and the Fellowship, I feel more informed and confident to make these decisions and am excited to work in a field I am so passionate about. I strongly feel these skills would greatly benefit all engineering students; and I would love to see more universities teach humanitarian and sustainable engineering,” says Adele.

A superstar chapter

The impact of the EWB ACT Chapter, which is mainly composed of ANU students and alumni, speaks to the strength of the partnership. The ACT Chapter cleaned up at the 2020 Danny Awards – EWB’s annual recognition of the most outstanding volunteers in EWB’s Chapter network. It was an impressive feat considering the ACT Chapter has the smallest membership base. Chapter President Louise Bardwell says that the chapter’s success comes down to the dedication of its members.

Sarah Callinan

When Louise’s predecessor, Sarah Callinan, started her role as ACT Chapter President in 2019 she had just three committee members. In her time as President, Sarah grew the size of the chapter’s executive, while encouraging alumni to remain involved and fostering a diverse and inclusive culture. She won the 2020 EWB Leader & Mentor Danny Award for her achievements in this space. 

Along with Sarah’s award, Jess Weakley won the Newcomer Award for her dedication to generating greater awareness of humanitarian engineering. To cap it off, Elizabeth Elias and Briana Jones won the COVID-19 Adaption Award. Elizabeth and Briana were innovative in translating the School Outreach program from in-person to online. 

Louise Bardwell says the impact of the School Outreach program is one of the great successes of the ACT Chapter. 

“Through School Outreach and the many workshops we have facilitated in schools around the ACT, our chapter has grown both an understanding of, and passion for, humanitarian engineering. Especially in areas like sustainable development, climate change and women’s involvement in STEM, School Outreach plays an important role in teaching primary to high school aged students what a career in engineering could look like, and therefore how a degree in STEM provides them with the skills to solve important challenges facing communities,” says Louise.

Louise is another student that enrolled at ANU with humanitarian engineering in mind. She knew of ANU and EWB’s commitment to humanitarian engineering education and wanted to be involved. She sees the EWB and ANU partnership as one that broadens horizons and provides excellent project-based learning opportunities. 

“The EWB/ANU humanitarian engineering partnership provides ANU students with ongoing and active engagement with EWB, extending a students’ university degree beyond just their studies, to practical community-focused projects. Across core ANU engineering courses, students are able to select humanitarian engineering-focused design projects. In these projects, students have the opportunity to employ the new engineering skills they are learning to real-world design challenges, allowing them to witness first-hand the meaningful impact that engineering can have in local communities.”

Humanitarian engineering education’s ‘generation next’

ANU’s humanitarian engineering alumni are the early adopters that are starting to shape the future of the sector. Liam Highmore, a 2019 ANU systems engineering graduate, won the Undergraduate Research Award at the Global Undergraduate Awards, for a thesis project that was part of the EWB Research Challenge.

Liam Highmore (centre)

For Jeremy Smith, the success of humanitarian engineering education at ANU, and the EWB partnership, is in seeing students like Liam become the next generation of leaders. Liam found the ANU and EWB partnership important in shaping his academic life, professional career and personal development. 

Liam now works in telecommunications, but his interest in humanitarian activities remains strong. He is always looking at how he can apply his humanitarian engineering knowledge to make a positive impact. He says this is “something I’m not sure I would do, if it wasn’t for EWB and ANU”.

Incorporating his humanitarian engineering mindset in a traditional engineering role was initially challenging for Liam. But he has found he has been, mostly unconsciously, applying many humanitarian engineering principles into his work. Like his lecturer Jeremy Smith all those years ago, Liam sees how humanitarian engineering approaches mesh with ‘traditional’ engineering disciplines.

“Using a human-centred approach to customer problems, encouraging cross-disciplinary approaches which use a wide range of people and skills to get the most out of projects, and building capacity in other teams is similar to how we would if we were co-creating technology in a Cambodian community,” says Liam.

Liam is excited by the strides made in humanitarian engineering education across universities. The next step, he says, is translating that progress into the industry.

“I would love to see humanitarian engineering ‘professionalised’ as its own entity.  Just like there will always be a need for structural or electrical engineers, I think there will always be a place for humanitarian engineers.”

With the ANU and EWB partnership clearly nurturing the future engineering leaders that we know the sector needs, the ability for the sector to redefine its role in addressing some of the world’s most wicked problems is possible – creating a world where technology benefits all.

The post ANU Breaking New Ground In Humanitarian Engineering Education appeared first on Engineers Without Borders Australia.

In August, the UWA’s EWB student-run chapter hosted an event at its Perth campus; the first initiative under the new partnership. Within the theme ‘Sustainability in Action’, panelists took around 50 students on a journey exploring current trends of Australia’s energy sector and the possibilities in moving towards more sustainable energy production. The event touched on several of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, including No. 9 (Sustainable cities and communities), No. 7 (Affordable and clean energy), No. 12 (Responsible consumption and production) and No. 13 (Climate action).

Key leaders in WA’s sustainable energy sector contributed to the discussions, including from Western Power, Australian Institute of Energy, Innovate Australia, Hydrogen Society of Australia, Energy Policy WA, as well as leading UWA academics in environmental engineering. These speakers have been actively engaged with changemaking through government-level policy, providing a unique opportunity to learn from those at the frontline of creating change. This included moderator Katharine McKenzie, who is the Principal Policy Advisor to the WA Energy Minister, and Kate Ryan, the Executive Director at Energy Policy WA, who implements government strategy on the transition to low-emissions and other energy resources.

Topics explored included the increasing prevalence of household-level solar, the potential of hybrid innovation (such as zero-emission hydrogen-powered electric cars), and balancing the need for long-term existing reliable technology with ongoing advances in newer, smaller-scale technology for governments to implement sustainably into the future.

What the panellists had to say

How do we build a sustainable energy society into the future?

The sentiment in the room was that we need to focus on partnerships between sectors and hybrid and systems-thinking approaches to technology – “the future is about solutions that are integrated, combined, decentralised” (Anas Ghadouani, Professor of Environmental Engineering at UWA). However as we introduce a plethora of new technologies into the energy sector, we must ensure the reliability of the wider system is not compromised: “how do we integrate all of these new technologies into our system in a way that actually keeps it secure?” (Kate Ryan, Executive Director at Energy Policy WA)

So, what’s the one policy that’s tackling climate change reduction globally?

The short answer – there isn’t just one policy. “We are not going to succeed at emissions reductions based on one policy, one technology, [nor] industry… we have to investigate every opportunity available to us. So that means looking at hydrogen, solar, bioenergy, what’s happening in transport, electricity and in our own homes” (Genevieve Simpson, Government Relations Manager at Western Power)

Well, what difference can I make as an engineer?

“It’s more than just being very technically good at what you do and having that engineering knowledge – it’s those soft skills and the ability to work with others, to influence both directly and more subtly as well, and also to participate in the political process [to influence change]” (Katharine McKenzie, Principal Policy Adviser to the WA Energy Minister)

Sounds good… any advice?

“It’s so important to think in critical terms… and take nobody’s word for it, so be sceptical… If you have facts and figures behind you and you understand it, stand your ground” (Peter Kasprzak, CEO of Innovate Australia)

Kym Spann from Engineers Australia (centre), Amy and Gavin from Progressive Energy Strategies (2nd and 3rd from top right) with students from the Makers Lab and University of Western Australia EWB Local Partnerships teams.

Opportunities to engage with real-world professionals and challenges

Engaging engineering students through this event format provided an opportunity for students to meet real-world leaders in the industry, who inspired them to imagine what the future of engineering in Australia and the world looks like. This involved awareness-raising of pressing issues locally and globally while being encouraged to think about how they will make their mark with their career before they leave university. 

After the panel discussion. students participated in activities including a talk from Engineers Australia representative Kym Spann, a sustainable energy quiz by Progressive Energy Strategies, and a tour of the UWA Makers Lab; a student-run makerspace on campus that enables students to get involved with more practical STEM based activities.

Engaging engineering students in real-world challenges is a strong theme within EWB’s university program offerings, such as the EWB Challenge Series. This program embeds real-world projects into the curriculum at 25 universities across Australia and New Zealand, engaging over 10,000 students each year in community-centred approaches to sustainable technology development.

What the students had to say

The panel discussion opened up topics that were not in the forefront of my mind but gave me interesting things to mull on. The members of the panel each caught the audience’s attention in their own way but Professor Anas was a stand out with his storytelling that captivated the audience in one fell swoop. An overall thought-provoking panel discussion.

– Tanesha Chiu (UWA Student, Physics)

The breakout events were a great opportunity to see how the communities around UWA are promoting sustainability in their own ways. It’s really good to see how both UWA clubs and the surrounding organizations are recognizing and spreading awareness on the global issues we’re facing.

– Caleb Lambert (UWA Student, Master in Chemical Engineering)

The panel of people represented a wide range of avenues within the energy sector. They were truly engaging and provided a rounded picture of the topic.

– Julia Taule (UWA Student, Electrical Engineering)

What’s next?

Resonating with the words of the panelists, the event demonstrated the power of collaborative partnerships, such as that between Engineers Australia and EWB Australia. It speaks to No. 17 in the Sustainable Development Goals – that partnerships need to be formed at all levels in order to make change happen. We need to work together in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and a more sustainable Australia, and engaging engineering students – our future engineers – is one step that we can enact today.

Other events under this partnership similarly aim to develop student skills in future-fit areas such as human-centred design, community development and strategic solutions for sustainable Australian cities. 

Other initiatives – such as the collaboration of five of EWB’s university chapters teaming up to run a design challenge to improve health and access to medical supplies (including sanitary items, disease prevention and telemedicine) – also strive to achieve this aim. 

The next instalment in the partnership will be hosted by the Monash University EWB Chapter and their Ideathon – a hack-a-thon style event focused around the sustainable development goal of health and wellbeing in line with the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) priorities. See the Ideathon website for more information.

The post Engineers Australia engaging engineering students in new partnership with EWB appeared first on Engineers Without Borders Australia.

The post Uni Chapters collaborate with ‘Big Design EWB’ online challenge appeared first on Engineers Without Borders Australia.

On Thursday 20 & Friday 21 August 2020, classes from can join our virtual classroom to design, create and build solutions to problems in their own community, using technology, engineering, science and maths. This could be designing an application for a local business, prototyping a robot for agriculture, or designing infrastructure for better transport.

While this challenge is open to all students, we have designed the event to actively target regional girls’ participation in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths).

In Australia, and particularly in remote and rural areas, girls have low STEM participation rates and low STEM aspirations in school, compared with boys. This means that, as adults, women are less likely to work in STEM or study STEM after school. Addressing the traditional stereotypes about ‘male’ and ‘female’ careers and presenting female role models, and enabling activities that address the lower self-confidence and strong feelings of anxiety toward maths and science that some girls feel – despite having the same ability and achievement as boys – is known to encourage greater interest in these fields.

The STEM Design Challenge aims to address these challenges – registrations for school to participate are now open! Find out more, and how to register, here.

National Science Week is Australia’s annual celebration of science and technology. Running each year in August, it features more than 1000 events around Australia, including those delivered by universities, schools, research institutions, libraries, museums and science centres.

UPDATE: Read about the ideas generated at the Design Challenge here!

The post Design Challenge for Your Community appeared first on Engineers Without Borders Australia.