BALLARAT Tech School’s 2022 Girls in STEM program got underway this week, empowering secondary students to consider a career in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.<\/p>\n
Fifty-four girls in year 8 to 10 from nine local high schools took part in a two-day workshop led by professionals from Mars Wrigley\u2019s Ballarat factory.<\/p>\n
Students were able to connect with innovative industry mentors, gain hands-on laboratory experience, and learn human-centred design thinking and communication skills.<\/p>\n
Ballarat Tech School associate director Damon Minotti said the program is an opportunity for young women to gain a stronger understanding of the size and scope of industry in their city, and the STEM-related jobs available.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey don\u2019t have to move away from Ballarat to work for a multinational. The amount of career pathways at Mars Wrigley, for example, is huge,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe girls are seeing not just women working in STEM-related trades, particularly engineering, but people from international backgrounds.<\/p>\n
\u201cHeather Lord Knight who has been running this program is originally from Canada and is the first female head of engineering for Mars Wrigley Australia.\u201d<\/p>\n
Working with Ms Lord Knight, students including Loreto College\u2019s Hannah had the chance to experiment while developing their own product.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had to design a chocolate bar, calculate the cost of ingredients, and the amount of waste produced,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve enjoyed working with new people from other schools.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Minotti said the program also encourages girls to create their own network of likeminded young people.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe hope they will stay in contact and continue to move through STEM-related opportunities with one another,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The Girls in STEM program runs for two days each term. The same group will take part in a workshop with Bartlett in term two, science-focused activities in term three, and explore drones and coding in term four.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BALLARAT Tech School’s 2022 Girls in STEM program got underway this week, empowering secondary students to consider a career in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Fifty-four girls in year 8 to 10 from nine local high schools took part in a two-day workshop led by professionals from Mars Wrigley\u2019s Ballarat factory. Students were able to […]<\/p>\n