ME Program partner school, St Philip’s Christian College (Newcastle) has continued their collaboration with local Defence contractor BlueZone Group for the 2020 Subs in Schools STEM Challenge. The industry-school collaboration began in 2019 which saw St Philip’s Christian College student placing 2nd in Australia at the 2019 Australian National Finals in Adelaide.
The Subs in Schools STEM Challenge requires students to build, modify and demonstrate a remote-controlled submarine. The collaboration between St Philip’s Christian College and BlueZone Group has seen students undertake specialised mentoring on the design, construction and assembly of the remote-controlled submarine by BlueZone Group engineers.
The partnership was initiated through the ME Program’s Industry Engagement program in which schools are paired with specialised businesses in order to bridge the gap between school education and workplace readiness.
St Philip’s students were very grateful for the opportunity to interact directly with engineers from BlueZone Group and have been working hard during their school holidays in preparation to represent the Hunter at the NSW State Finals and later at the National Finals with the hopes of achieving the national title for the Hunter.
SUBS in Schools Technology Challenge™ is the result of collaboration between REA, the Department of Defence and industry stakeholders including the Australian Submarine Corporation and Saab Australia. RDA Hunter’s ME Program is proud to support St Philip’s Christian College in REA’s Subs in Schools Technology Challenge.