Important information
The National AI Centre (NAIC) is transitioning from CSIRO to the Department of Industry, Science, and Resources (DISR) on 1st July 2024. You can find the latest NAIC content at industry.gov.au. For any NAIC-related questions, please email NAIC@industry.gov.au.
Digital Careers Program outcomes
The 2021–23 Digital Careers program was delivered by the CSIRO Education and Outreach unit and funded by the Department of Industry, Science and Resources (DISR). The program concluded on the 31 January 2024.
Digital Careers comprised of several elements which sought to support teachers and encourage students’ understanding of digital technologies and build the foundational skills they require in an ever-changing workforce:
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Bebras Computational Thinking Challenge Australia (Bebras).
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CyberTaipan Program (CyberTaipan).
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Microsoft FarmBeats for Students Australia (FarmBeats).
With approximately 54,000 students and 2600 educators participating each year, the Digital Careers program played an important role in developing students skills and teacher confidence in key ICT related areas. To learn about our impacts, read our Interim and Final Reports:
Digital Careers Interim Evaluation Report PDF (3 MB)
Digital Careers Final Evaluation Report PDF (3 MB)
Bebras Australia
The Bebras Computational Thinking Challenge is an international initiative to promote computer science among school students of all ages. Bebras has been sponsored by DISR through the Digital Careers Grant and delivered by CSIRO as the National Bebras Organiser (NBO). In January 2024, CSIRO resigned as the Australian NBO for Bebras after the 2023 challenge.
In 2024, the Bebras Australia Challenge will be delivered by the Australian Maths Trust (AMT). To join the Challenge, please visit www.amt.edu.au/bebras or email the AMT team at competitions@amt.edu.au.
Our Bebras Journey:
CSIRO has proudly delivered the following:
- Two challenge rounds annually, and since September 2021 reached more than 20,000 students per round.
- Bebras 365 and Bebras Mini Challenges have offered continuous access to Bebras past challenges and created an always-accessible resource for teaching specific computational thinking skills.
- Along with international delivery counterparts, Bebras Australia contributed to a program that reached over 3.2 million students in 59 countries in 2022.
Thanks to the Bebras Computational Thinking challenge, students have gained a stronger understanding of computational thinking. This has enhanced their skills and confidence in using these abilities in various contexts:
- 91% reported improvement in students' ability to complete computational thinking activities.
- 91% reported improvement in student confidence in using computational thinking.
- 88% reported improvement in students' understanding of computational thinking.
- 76% reported improved student ability to apply computational thinking skills to other situations.
CyberTaipan
CyberTaipan was a national cybersecurity competition based on the CyberPatriot competition, which has been running in the US since 2009. The program employed a well-established framework – developed by the US competition - to educate and inspire high school students to pursue further studies and careers in cybersecurity and STEM fields.
CSIRO proudly delivered the CyberTaipan cyber security competition in Australia from 2020 until October 2023. It was sponsored by DISR through the Digital Careers Grant, with financial support from Northrop Grumman Australia (NGA) and our other partners.
Since 2020, the program saw increased program participation and progress towards its early and mid-term goals. Both students and educators observed improvements in their cyber security skills and awareness; including increased skill in applying cyber security concepts and knowledge of career pathways.
Other activities delivered as part of the program included two CyberCamps in 2022 and a Young Women’s CyberTour in 2023.
Read our CyberTaipan stories to learn more.
FarmBeats
Microsoft FarmBeats for Students was an interactive STEM education program, that provided teachers and students in Years 9 and 10 with tools to explore big data, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and IOT technologies. The program aimed to prepare students for modern digital careers across diverse industries.
In 2021, CSIRO partnered with Microsoft to deliver a pilot of this ground-breaking STEM education initiative with real world impact to 397 students from 18 schools across Australia. Participants spoke positively of their experiences, highlighting the opportunity to get hands-on with topics including the cross-disciplinary space of artificial intelligence and the environment.
Applying the skills learned through the program to an open-ended enquiry, students were able investigate solutions to real-world problems using industry resources, such as Climate Services for Agriculture.
Read more about participants experiences throughout the FarmBeats for Students Australia pilot program.