Our Techtrails STEM & Future Skills Program is making connections across WA to inspire girls to think about how technology will shape the way they live, play and work in the future. At the start of March the Techtrails team hopped on a plane down to Esperance so see over 140 students and bring together women working in STEM to share their Technology and STEM stories.
Thank you to Julie Hawke and the wonderful team at Esperance Senior High School for welcoming our Techtrails Program. The Girls Leadership Program coordinated and ran the day for us – smoothy, incredibly efficiently and always with a smile on their faces.
We even had a special session facilitated by Gabriella Botha – where fellow students shared their thoughts and inspiration for international women’s day.
With an amazing line-up of local talent the students at Esperance Senior High School heard from women who work in their community, from shark monitoring, to agriculture, the Esperance Port and more!
The incursion is special for a couple of reasons. Firstly it coincides with International Women’s Day week, and the whole school was involved in celebrating. Esperance was also the lucky first school to experience our brand new Virtual Reality activity. Students learnt about Virtual Reality, and gained insights into how this technology will be used in future jobs.
“The women from WiTWA are just top class. We need to let everyone know about how amazing this was for our girls and follow up with them again in the future.” – Ian, Principal
Our speakers for the day included:
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Shelley Payne – Shark monitoring project from the Shire of Esperance
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King Yin Lui – Research Scientist from the Department of Agriculture
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Kim Maslin – Digital Technologies Educator and Author of The Tweeting Galah
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Gry Stene – Geek Whisperer and STEAM advocate from STEAM Engine Global
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Lydia van der Walt, Corinne Waight, and Catherine Field from the Esperance Port
Feedback from staff was overwhelmingly positive, and students feedback demonstrated that they gained a valuable appreciation for how STEM plays a role in their futures.
A big thank you to all involved!
You can also check out the feature in the local paper:
https://www.esperanceexpress.com.au/story/6681699/young-leaders-tackle-tech/?cs=1520
“All the guest speakers did GREAT. Thx to the Girls leadership programe and Julie Hawke for making this amazing event happen. I’m way more interested in STEM then I was at the start.”
— student feedback
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“The girls were buzzing for the rest of the week and couldn’t stop talking about it.”
— Science Teacher
