Darwin Middle School students travel to Flinders University, SA, for STEM program

A three-day STEM academy for regional and rural schoolgirls has welcomed Territory students into its ranks for the first time. Here’s what they’ll be doing.

A cohort of NT students have travelled to Adelaide for a three-day STEM academy for girls hosted by Flinders University.

It is the first year Territory girls will join the ranks of South Australia’s students for a series of hands-on workshops led by the university’s academics.

Darwin Middle School teacher Prue Rathborne accompanied 15 students from her school for the learning adventure.

Darwin Middle School students Saibreena Khan, Grishma Desai and Renee Li at the Flinders University STEM academy.

Ms Rathborne said the girls were “ecstatic” about the trip and plenty of smiling faces were spread among the crowd of almost 300 SA and NT students.

“They are absolutely loving it,” she said.

“A lot of them have never seen a university like Flinders before, so it’s a big eye opener as to what they can move into and where education can push them.”

Ms Rathborne had hoped the trip would excite girls about the prospect of a career in STEM, and she was already seeing that after less than a day in the southern classrooms.

“It’s just a real confidence boost and ambitions for the future,” she said.

“Those conversations are starting: ‘I want to go to uni, I want to do this, I want to do that, This is cool’.”

Darwin Middle School student Trinh Robinson at the Flinders University STEM academy.

Darwin Middle School students Alisha Perera and Samritha Bharanidharan at the Flinders University STEM academy.

Darwin Middle School student Samritha Bharanidharan said she felt “very privileged” to get a “real taste of university and what’s involved”.

Fellow student Trinh Robinson said the opportunity allowed her and her peers to trial STEM activities they would not normally get to do in classrooms.

“Now that I see what university is like, it’s changed my perception and I really want to go,” she said.

STEM Enrichment Academy director Professor Maria Parappilly said engineering had one of the lowest female representation among STEM professions.

Prof Parappilly said women made up about 16 per cent of Australian engineering graduates and 13 per cent of the Australian engineering workforce.

The Flinders University program offers $65,000 in scholarship funding to bring regional and rural schoolgirls on board for the unique experience.

Students from Taminmin College and St Philip’s College are also included in the NT cohort this year.

The program supports the university’s Women in STEM and Entrepreneurship goal of introducing a further 1000 high school students and their teachers to high-tech, engineering and other pathways.