Indigenous Education
Over the Christmas school holidays, our Indigenous students have been selected to be involved in some wonderful opportunities. We could not be more proud of their achievements.
Esther Cummins Australian Engineering School (IAES)
We would like to congratulate Esther Cummins in Year 10 on being one of only 25 students Australia-wide selected to be a part of the University of Sydney Indigenous Australian Engineering School (IAES), run from the 15 - 22 January 2023.
The Indigenous Australian Engineering School is an annual event, established and funded by Engineering Aid Australia. The IAES is conducted in Sydney by the University of Sydney’s Faculty of Engineering on behalf of Engineering Aid Australia.
The week-long program involved hands-on experiences with the engineering faculty, site visits to key Engineering companies in various Sydney locations, curriculum exercises, and participation in cultural activities.
Whilst on the camp Esther was awarded ‘The Hon RJL (Bob) Hawke Capacity for Leadership Award’ In recognition to the January 2023 IAEC hosted by The University of Sydney and to your community.
Esther gave a speech at Admiralty House in front of a number of dignitaries including the Governor General, David Hurley and his wife.
Also, as part of this fantastic opportunity, Esther has qualified for an Engineering Aid Australia Continuing School scholarship to help with education expenses in Years 10, 11 & 12. Also, if Esther completes Year 12, applies and receives a place at any university in Australia to study Engineering or a related course, Esther will be eligible for an Engineering Aid Austalia Tertiary Education scholarship.
Esther continues to be a strong young Aboriginal leader and is well-deserving of this opportunity.
We thank, Esther, for preparing the below report about her experience at the camp
On the first day, we did some sessions learning about the different streams of engineering, an activity where we designed a floating house in teams using limited materials, a session on the different support services available at TAFE and different ways to study at TAFE, a rocketry session where we learnt about USyd's world champion student rocketry group and their rocket that reached 30,000 ft and a session where we toured and learnt about the University of Sydney's Gadigal Centre and the amazing scholarships and support that First Nations students can access through it such as accommodation scholarships that reduce accommodation to $50 a week, a reduction in minimum atar requirements for some courses and free tutoring for two hours per week per subject, just to name a few. We then finished the day with Thai, an escape room and gelato.
On Tuesday, we went to the Opera House to learn about Honeywell and the roles that the company plays in managing the Opera House's Business Management System - temperature, humidity, water use and energy consumption using sensors, code and software. We were also given a tour of the Opera House where we learnt about the history of the building and the technologies and strategic design of the different theatres to produce the best sound for the style of the performances.
After the Opera House, we then did a Tribal Warrior Harbour Cruise where we went to Clark Island and had a bush tucker and island history tour by Aunties. We then went to the Google Office, where we did a tour of their facilities which include an arcade, movie theatre, music room, recording studio, restaurants, kitchens with chefs, libraries and silent study rooms, just to name a few. To finish the day we went to the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence for a swim and to have dinner which was cooked by an elder who shared her fascinating story and life advice with us, she was amazing.
On Wednesday, we had a tour of the facilities at BOC, a major gas company, where we saw the world's only robotic systems that organise and sort thousands of gas bottles and check them for defects, we toured the construction site of the new Western Sydney Airport, toured a crash lab and learnt about the technologies that are used there and then we had a few sessions at the university. We finished the evening with a careers fair where we got to speak and network with engineers and industry partners. I met the Director of Environment and Sustainability, Regions of Transport for NSW who said that she will contact the Port Macquarie office and help me to organise work experience with them which will be really good because Transport combines both STEM and politics.
On Thursday, we went for a swim at a new aquatic centre and learnt about the specific engineering factors that were used in its design and had two sessions at the uni - biomedical and chemical engineering sessions. I was asked by my houseparents on Wednesday night if I wanted to give a speech at Admiralty House and of course, I said yes so they helped me to write it. We then went to Admiralty House because the Governor General is Engineering Aid's patron. We listened to the Governor General and Mrs Hurley speak, alongside some other people who work with Engineering Aid Australia and then I gave mine. Afterwards, we took photos and then we got to talk with many engineers and people from major companies and walk around the grounds of Admiralty House.
On Friday, we toured Arup, a big engineering company, and did an activity where we designed a new tourist attraction for Goat Island on Sydney Harbour, climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge which in total was 1002 stairs and then we had our formal graduation dinner. At the dinner, we listened to an IAES Alumni's speech, the CEO of Engineering Aid Australia's speech and many others. We were then presented with our certificates and another student called Ethan and I were both presented with the Bob Hawke Capacity for Leadership Award.
I learnt so much at this camp and got to meet so many people and learn from their experiences in their various fields of engineering. All 25 of the other students were so nice and we are all still talking to each other over social media.
Once again, thank you for helping me to apply for this camp, it could not have been better,
Esther
Macquarie University Walanga Muru 2023 CAMP ASPIRE
By attending the camp the students were able to gain knowledge and experiences that will help them to make decisions on what tertiary study options are available to them once they finish high school.
The first two days of the camp involved in engaging activities run by various faculties to allow a taste of the degree areas the uni has to offer. Day 3 were activities led by the Walanga Muru centre and focused on available opportunities at the university, pathways into university, scholarships, accommodation options, and opportunities to speak to external stakeholders about job opportunities as well as Cultural activities.
ALUMNI - Luke Banks, Class of 2022
Also in January, Luke Banks, who graduated in 2022, commenced his ADF Gap year. Luke will now commence his training in the area of Air Force Security in Wagga. Once he has completed his training he will transfer to Victoria classified as an Aircraftman for the remainder of the year. Once Luke has completed his training he has the option to continue in the ADF or leave and commence University studies.
Well done, Luke, we wish you all the best.
Carly Taylor
Indigenous Education Team