The WiEIT STEM X Horizons program has finished its collaboration with SSC for the term and delivered incredible engineering prototypes that the students showcased to their fellow staff and classmates last June.
As a key part of the program students were encouraged to find a solution that connected their Indigeneity and explored solutions that relate to their cultural heritage. There were multiple groups of students who developed projects that showcased road construction and bridges in flood prone areas, community gardens, updated sporting facilities One group created a fish trap that they would like to build at a water-way where their family’s home is based- this was intended to reduce the amount of time spent fishing when left over night.
The curriculum centres around engineering and building a prototype of a solution that Indigenous students would like to implement in their school, community or home that would make improvements to solve a real-world problem.
The students contributed an exceptional effort toward building their prototypes and it was incredible to see each student engage with other students in different year levels. This gave the students the opportunity to explore their creativity and work on a project that is out of their comfort zone, and UTS were privileged to share this opportunity with Sydney Secondary College across their Leichardt and Balmain campuses.
Rodney Plashchik, the Head of Programs at the college, mentioned that by the end of the project many of the students who previously would not often participate in group work, and would prefer working independently (or may not want to contribute at all), had shown a significantly positive shift in engagement and participation in their classes over the course of the program.
The students proactively contributed and spoke about their projects in front of their classmates, something which many of them had never done before. This project has showcased an exceptional effort by the students from Leichardt and Balmain campus- we are so proud of their efforts in building their prototypes and participating in the program. All the students were proud recipients of certificates for the work, as well as receiving special prizes from WiEIT/UTS.