In February, representatives from the Defence Department’s Strategic Policy and Intelligence Group, visited the iSTEM lab at St Philips to assess firsthand how the ME Program’s iSTEM curriculum is being implemented successfully in our schools. Approximately twenty iSTEM and Engineering Studies students demonstrated their skills and project work.
The engineering lab was alive with the sound of dragsters being raced, aerial drones, the Laser Cutter and CNC Router, Wind Tunnel testing, and 3D scanning, with the Mind-Controlled Prosthetic Hand featuring prominently. In addition, a new technology (the StarLAB/Mars Rover project) was previewed by Obelisk Systems.
Student interest in the iSTEM and Engineering Studies courses has reached new milestones in 2017, with the addition of a second iSTEM class in Year 9, a second iSTEM teacher (Mr Aaron Batterham), and record numbers of students enrolled in Year 11 and 12 Engineering Studies.
Excellent outcomes were also achieved by last year’s Engineering Studies graduates, with nearly every student receiving a university offer for an Engineering course of their choice. Enrolments in Physics and higher-level Math subjects have also continued at strong levels at the school.