Melbourne-based La Trobe University academics and postgraduate researchers travelled to Wodonga to show students what a career in the hard sciences could involve.
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Outreach education officer Anjali Sahasrabudhe said teenagers in regional centres, such as Albury-Wodonga, lacked the same access to experts as their metropolitan counterparts.
“That’s one of the main draw cards,” she said.
“We rely heavily on these young students, because they act as role models for the high school students.
“The reason for coming out here to Wodonga is because the high schools here don’t often have access to these programs – so this is an opportunity to come out and give it to them.”
All up, 150 year 10 students from Wodonga Senior Secondary College, James Fallon and Wangaratta high schools took part last week.
In line with National Science Week, Dr Sahasrabudhe said its aim was to inspire students into seriously considering taking up science as a career.
“It’s for them to see the possibilities of where we are at already, and what sort of exciting things and challenges lie ahead,” she said.
La Trobe staged science and technology demonstrations for students to peruse.
Students learned about how genetics and biotechnology could intersect and be used to improve crop plants and dairy cattle.
Another focused on the emerging field of nanoscience, where postgrads explained how it was possible to change materials to make them more useful.
For example, students worked with a special alloy which, if heated, could revert back to its original shape after it was damaged.
They also examined a type of a sand with hydrophobic qualities that could be used in waterproof clothing or responding to oil spills.
Technology-based workshops concentrated on robotics and also how to create an app for a smartphone.
La Trobe’s Wodonga campus offers a science undergraduate degree but only for first years.
Educational partnerships officer Cherie Dyde, who helped organise the day, said the university was trying to extend the course.
“We would love more numbers,” she said. Ms Dyde said the science forum was a resounding success.
“The students were really engaged in it and they were really excited to be doing stuff they normally don’t get the opportunity to do,” she said.
“There were a lot of comments about how much fun it was. The kids were pretty grateful for the opportunity.”
But the Grattan Institute’s mapping Australian higher education 2016 report revealed a paltry 50 per cent of science degree graduates secured a full-time job within four months.
