STEM industry access inspires locally

THE Ballarat STEM Network is giving the education sector, industry and the broader community opportunities to collaborate.

Launched in 2017 by the Ballarat Tech School, the group hosts STEM leaders and gives the city access to resources and specialist support, inspiring young people with potential, ground-breaking, future career paths, and broadly reinforcing the value of science, technology, engineering and maths fields in regional Victoria.

In partnership with IBM Australia, the network most recently welcomed guest presenter and marine scientist, Dr Vanessa Pirotta who works to conserve marine wildlife, particularly whales.

Speaking about technology and innovation in the sea, Dr Pirotta shared her specific focus on drones collecting biological samples from whales remotely.

“It was such a nice opportunity to bring this research to regional Australia. It’s not an everyday topic that’s spoken about in Ballarat,” she said.

“I found the community really welcoming, as well as very engaged and generally interested in what I was talking about.”

She said it’s “extremely important” for industry experts to have spaces where they can share their current, world-leading research and insights in regional areas.

“I grew up outside of Canberra, so for me, it was a nice opportunity to give back something to those younger students and audience members who might be aspiring to big things, or a certain role, and think they can’t do it because they’re in the middle of Australia,” Dr Pirotta said.

The visibility of women in science, technology, engineering, arts and maths is something incredibly important to her.

“We’re now having those discussions and opportunities to see women in the workplace doing a variety of roles which weren’t necessarily there when I was growing up.

“To see a woman like myself, doing what I’m doing, I hope it’s inspiring for the audience members and makes them connect with something they might want to do when they grow up… and dream big,” Dr Pirotta said.

Making the most of facilities available and meeting new people is something she believes to be crucial at the start of any STEM career.

“My advice would be to network, use the resources that you have and the people that are there for you, such as the Tech School, because it’s such a great opportunity to facilitate discussions.

“It’s very important to collaborate because your ideas might be a perfect fit for thinking outside of the box, and connecting with someone with a different skillset might create something wonderful,” Dr Pirotta said.