Generation STEM

2021 Annual Review



Acknowledgement of Country

CSIRO acknowledges the Traditional 
Owners of the lands that we live and work 
on across Australia and pay our respect 
to Elders past and present. We recognise 
that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander 
peoples have made and will continue 
to make extraordinary contributions to 
all aspects of Australian life including 
culture, economy and science.



Contents
Executive summary...................................................................................................................................2

Generation STEM: 2021 year in review.............................................................................................................................3Program growth........................................................................................................................................4Generation STEM’s expanding reach................................................................................................................................4Western Sydney expansion................................................................................................................................................5Generation STEM generating interest..............................................................................................................................5Program delivery.......................................................................................................................................6Focus Area 1
STEM Community Partnerships Program (STEM CPP)......................................................................................................6Focus Area 1
Deadly in Generation STEM.............................................................................................................................................10Focus Area 1
#WithSTEMYouCan campaign.........................................................................................................................................11Focus Area 2
Generation STEM Links.....................................................................................................................................................12Data Insights projects......................................................................................................................................................13Program insights.......................................................................................................................................14Key insights.......................................................................................................................................................................14Conclusion and recommendations..................................................................................................................................15Program management...........................................................................................................................16Governance.......................................................................................................................................................................16Appendices.................................................................................................................................................17Appendix A: School and student characteristics............................................................................................................17

Executive summary

In 2021 Generation STEM grew deeper 
and wider: deeper with increased 
reach and stronger relationships 
of its established program, and 
wider with new programs reaching 
a more diverse audience and with 
new regions also increasing the 
overall spread of Generation STEM.

Generation STEM has established its presence through 
program delivery in Focus Area 1 (building the STEM 
pipeline) in Western Sydney, via the STEM Community 
Partnerships Program (STEM CPP). In 2021 this increased 
significantly, as participation went from two Local 
Government Areas (LGAs) in both 2019 and 2020, 
to seven in 2021. This is set to increase to eleven LGAs 
participating in STEM CPP in 2022 in Western Sydney 
alone, not including LGAs from new regions. 

This deeper reach in Western Sydney has led to amplified 
recognition by community, stakeholders and participants 
of the program’s value. Stakeholders and potential 
participants have proactively reached out to Generation 
STEM to get involved, and both schools and industry 
partners have continued involvement despite COVID-19 
related challenges. Schools and industry mentors alike 
spoke positively about their experience with STEM CPP 
and are keen to remain involved in the program.

STEM CPP has also been an important part of Generation 
STEM’s expansion wider into regional NSW with the 
program launching in Central West in 2021; the first 
expansion to a regional area. This was shortly followed by 
the expansion into New England, specifically the Moree 
Special Activation Precinct (SAP), and Illawarra-Shoalhaven 
with Deadly in Generation STEM. Through this regional 
expansion, Generation STEM is tailoring program offerings 
to meet local growing STEM needs in these communities. 

New programs and projects have been established 
throughout 2021 extending the scope of Generation 
STEM. Deadly in Generation STEM under Focus Area 1 
is underway with the aim of increasing participation of 
underrepresented groups in the STEM pipeline, namely 
NSW Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander students. 
The second program initiated in 2021 was Generation 
STEM Links. This program sits under Focus Area 2 
(transition to employment) and aims to increase tertiary 
students’ work-readiness through high-quality internships. 
Lastly, two data insights projects have been initiated, 
the results of which could have a far-reaching and longer 
lasting impact beyond the Generation STEM initiative.

This growth has been possible in large due to Generation 
STEM’s continued innovation to understand and meet 
community needs, and adapt in line with COVID-19 related 
restrictions and lockdowns. Not only have several program 
offerings been converted to a virtual format, but processes 
have also been established to enable flexible delivery 
moving forward – be it face-to-face, virtual or hybrid. 

In summary, 2021 could be themed ‘the year of growth’ 
for Generation STEM. 



Generation STEM: 2021 year in review

STEM Community Partnerships Program (STEM CPP)

1122 students 

47 schools

23 
industry 
partners 

87% school retention, 
despite COVID-19 challenges

6 
teacher professional 
learning workshops

27 
students participated in 
Virtual Work Experience

6 virtual showcases 
with 87 projects presented 
and 500+ attendees

Students and teachers report that STEM CPP has 
positively impacted students’ 21st Century skills.

New locations

3 
new NSW 
regions 

5 
new LGAs in Western 
Sydney region

New programs

Deadly in Generation STEM 
launched in Moree, New England and 
Illawarra-Shoalhaven

Generation STEM Links 
launched state-wide

2 Data insights projects 
approved and initiated 

#WithSTEMYouCan campaign 

Social Media 
campaign 
showcasing STEM 
achievements to 
inspire next generation

Campaign 
platforms included 
Facebook, 
Twitter and 
Instagram

114 organic social media 
mention, resulting in a 
reach of over

1.6 million

100+ 
panel 
discussion 
attendees

1133 
Visitors to 
csiro.au 
page content



Program growth

Generation STEM’s expanding reach

2021 has been the year of the greatest geographical growth for Generation 
STEM, with expansion from two to seven LGAs active in the program within 
Western Sydney and presence established in three new regions in NSW. 



Western Sydney expansion

Western Sydney expansion has occurred 
as the cumulative effect of:

• Growing reputation of the program.
• Strategic industry partnerships.
• Ongoing conversations and relationship building with 
councils since mid-2019 (Blue Mountains, The Hills).
• Adapting to a flexible delivery model to allow 
schools and industry to participate with Council 
support, but without requiring Council 
resources (Parramatta, Wollondilly).
• Scalability of the program model 
allowing the team to focus on 
recruitment and supporting 
new participants, while 
return participants become 
self-sufficient.


Generation STEM generating interest

Generation STEM’s increasing recognition is evident 
by the number of stakeholders that have proactively 
reached out to get involved. The initiatives reputation 
has been established through activities like the 
#withSTEMyoucan campaign, events and community 
engagement, social media activity, various announcements 
of new partnerships, and word-of-mouth promotion.

This has resulted in increased awareness of the program 
and expanded reach to potential industry partners, 
industry associations, councils and other government 
stakeholders. Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council, 
Public Works Advisory and Regional Development, 
Norman Disney and Young, NSW Minerals Council/NSW 
Mining all reached out to discuss possible partnership 
opportunities with Generation STEM independently. 



Program delivery

Focus Area 1
STEM Community Partnerships Program (STEM CPP)

Implementation of STEM CPP expanded considerably in 2021 for the third year, 
building on the valuable processes and relationships established in the first two 
years of operation. STEM CPP forms strong and sustainable relationships with 
schools, councils and industry to provide relevant opportunities for students. 
Learnings from these relationships in Western Sydney have informed the 
establishment of a delivery partner model of STEM CPP in the Central West region. 

Key activities and achievements

Community 
engagement


7 new formalised 
agreements 
with councils

6 school information 
sessions

95 school 
leaders engaged

722 registrations 
and 500+ attendees 
at Virtual Showcases

Empowering 
teachers


6 teacher 
professional learning 
(TPL) workshops

29 STEM 
professionals 
confirmed 
partnership with 
teachers 

Drop-in sessions 
to prepare for 
Virtual Showcase

Attract, 
support and 
train students

1122 students 
participated in 
program in 2021 
(increase of >600% 
from 2020 (153))

47 participating 
schools (increase 
of >480% from 
2020 (8))

6 Virtual Showcases 
conducted with 87 
projects presented

Connect to 
industry


Virtual Work 
Experience – 

27 students 

Continued strategic 
industry partnerships 

23 industry partners 
in Western Sydney 

Industry input into 

36 new local 
challenge scenarios

Communications

Impact and evaluation



Engaging industry 

2021 demonstrated the benefit of developing industry partner relationships over 
time; with >280% increase in industry partners (from 6 in 2020 to 23 in 2021). 
Often these engagements were a result of careful stakeholder management and 
clearly communicating the benefits of STEM CPP to their organisation. This is 
particularly true with the larger industry partners such as Western Sydney Airport.

CASE STUDY

Taking off with Western Sydney Airport

Western Sydney Airport (WSA) invest in the workforce 
of the future by educating secondary school students 
about potential career opportunities, securing future 
employment for the Western Sydney region.

Through STEM CPP, CSIRO’S Generation STEM partnered 
with WSA to provide inquiry-based STEM project 
participation opportunities for year 9 and 10 students, 
connecting students with industry and the local community. 
This partnership took over a year to reach this point.

Students were invited to visit WSA’s construction site 
and hear from experts bringing the new WSA to life. 

During a virtual event, students engaged with WSA 
engineers who shared insights into their own STEM career 
journeys, including the trials and tribulations that can be 
experienced. They interacted with students and answered 
questions along the way, further providing real world 
application of STEM skills to their future career prospects.

Results

A total of 76 students from 5 schools participated in 
the event designed to inspire local students into STEM 
pathways, with all participants associating themselves 
with a role in STEM they could see themselves in. 

This activity generated media activity, with The Daily 
Telegraph and Passenger Terminal Today circulating 
news articles. Further promotional activity 
included media releases published to csiro.au, 
Twitter activity and WSA generated content. 

The strong relationship formed between WSA and 
Generation STEM combined with the positive results 
of the partnership solidified WSA commitment to 
participate in STEM CPP ongoing, specifically 2 activities 
per term hosted by WSA (one virtual, one on-site). 

This agreement will provide opportunities for 
approximately 500 students to interact with 
STEM professionals each year, understand 
real-world applications of their inquiry project, 
and gain regular insight to STEM careers. 



COVID-19 2.0

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, STEM CPP was almost 
exclusively delivered virtually from July 2021. 
The pivot, however, was different to that of 2020. 

Using learnings from the previous year and making 
improvements for 2021, the program was able to 
retain 47 out of 54 (87%) participating schools, 
despite the challenges of remote learning. 

These improvements and subsequent learnings 
will inform 2022 STEM CPP delivery. 

2021 Learnings 

How STEM CPP was adapted to 
address 2021 COVID related challenges

Industry mentors met with their partnered teacher (and 
some instances classes) virtually. This enabled teachers to 
continue accessing real world context and information 
relating to inquiry projects, despite lockdowns.

Careers events delivered virtually by organisations 
such as Western Sydney Airport and Canva 
provided 150+ students with direct access to 
STEM professionals in a range of careers. 

Virtual Work Experience replaced onsite Work Experience 
– 27 Year 10 students engaged in projects with 5 different 
supervisors and Generation STEM now have supervisors 
trained in delivering this mode of work experience. 

‘I enjoyed being able to talk to professionals about nanotech 
and STEM in general. It gave me a lot of helpful knowledge 
that would definitely benefit my future.’ – Student

Learning and further improvements to 
be embedded into program for 2022

Ongoing, mentors and teachers will be able to 
opt for purely virtual, blended or face-to-face 
partnerships upon sign up in 2022. 

The success of the event has inspired Western Sydney 
Airport to commit and confirm dates for 1–2 virtual event 
per term. Other industry partners can also be invited 
to take this approach given this example of success. 

This will be further expanded and will be offered 
across the year, with students and teachers 
being able to ‘book’ into a project at a time that 
suits, from a range of different STEM industries. 
This will continue to allow students direct access 
to STEM Professionals in an efficient manner. 

In 2022, STEM CPP will continue to develop resources and 
adapt delivery to allow all aspects of the program to be 
delivered successfully in a hybrid and/or virtual format.

An adapted model 

Working with local Councils was a key success factor of 
STEM CPP when first designed three years’ ago. Through 
our partnerships and relationships with local Councils to 
date, we have gained an understanding of the valuable 
work Councils do to support their communities. 

In light of local Council requirements to redirect resources 
to support their communities through COVID-19, some 
Councils did not have the capacity to collaborate on 
STEM CPP in 2021. This led to the establishment of an 
adapted STEM CPP delivery model to be used in these 
circumstances. This model will reduce the strain on local 
Council resources by allowing school and industry partner 
involvement without formal local Council collaboration. 

The model will be trialled in Wollondilly and Parramatta in 
2022 allowing STEM CPP to continue to expand in Western 
Sydney despite the considerable resource constraints that 
Councils face. While initially the program may be offered to 
the community without local Council involvement, STEM CPP 
will continue to connect with local Councils and invite them 
to participate in STEM CPP activities such as the Showcase 
event. If their capacity allows, local Councils have the option 
to formally collaborate at any stage of the program in future.



CASE STUDY

New and Improved Virtual Showcases 

Using learnings from 2020, the team adapted the Virtual 
Showcases 2021 to recreate an experience as close to 
possible as the face-to-face event. A virtual showcase 
was hosted for each LGA on the originally scheduled 
showcase date, maintaining the effect of a ‘live’ event. 

Important stakeholders were still able to attend, and 
teachers remained on schedule in preparing their 
students. Students were able to present their projects 
to a live audience and take questions from council 
employees, STEM professionals and other students. 

The sense of celebration and acknowledgement for 
students that their work has value to community 
was far higher than it had been in 2020. It also 
provided students with the opportunity to practise 
the skill of communicating STEM ideas to a diverse 
audience and build their confidence in presenting 
online; something that was not possible in 2020. 

Lessons learnt

• Be available for teachers: drop-in sessions for teachers 
were scheduled in the lead up in to showcases – 
these virtual sessions were invaluable and provided 
teachers with support and technological know-how, 
with minimal output from each STEM CPP team 
member. These will be implemented on an ongoing 
basis in 2022 for all aspects of STEM CPP for teachers 
to access Project Officers as and when needed. 
• Build virtual delivery into all planning: making the 
decision early to move to a virtual event allowed 
ample time for planning and preparation, and the 
changes made from the face-to-face event were 
well-considered. As a result, the virtual event became 
more than a minimal viable product. In the process, 
some work that had been done with a face-to-face 
event in mind had to be revisited and adapted for the 
virtual context. From 2022, all events will be planned 
with a hybrid model in mind so attendees can access 
any given event either virtually or in person. This means 
that if an event needs to be moved to only a virtual 
format, this switch will require minimal ‘pivoting’. 
• Virtual events are not just a back-up plan: the success 
of the 2021 Virtual Showcases has shown that virtual 
events do not have to be ‘the next best’ option, 
when compared with face-to-face events. As such, 
the 2022 calendar has virtual events built in where 
the benefits of this format outweigh those of a in 
person event. This strategic decision means that the 
number of participants for each event is uncapped 
and STEM CPP’s reach can be expanded quickly, 
events can be offered cross-geographies and in-turn 
participants have the flexibility to choose from multiple 
scheduled events and the logistical load is removed 
for teachers as they can dial-in from the classroom


What participants said

‘it was fabulous to see some of the great projects the 
students had come up with, you could tell they had innovated 
and really done their research’ – Council Employee

‘The students were incredibly proud of themselves and enjoyed 
getting to showcase their projects. The students have gained 
skills from being a part of this project and we look forward to 
working together for more initiatives in the future.’ – Teacher



Focus Area 1
Deadly in Generation STEM

Generation STEM aims to increase the diversity of 
students entering the STEM pipeline by focusing on 
underrepresented groups. This program was initiated in 
2021 with the specific purpose of increasing participation 
of NSW Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander 
students in STEM, through Culture and on Country. 

In 2021, the Deadly in Generation STEM team conducted 
community consultation to better understand the 
current needs and challenges faced by Indigenous 
students engaging with STEM education and STEM 
pathways in their respective communities. 

Insights from this engagement have informed 
how Deadly in Generation STEM will tailor the 
program appropriately for each community.

2021 Stakeholder consultation 

Gomeroi Country (Moree)

Dharawal Country (Illawarra-Shoalhaven)

Moree Local Aboriginal Education Consultative Group 
(AECG)

Illawarra AECG

Moree Secondary College

University of Wollongong

Local Aboriginal Land Council

Illawarra Local Aboriginal Land Council

Moree Sports, Health, Arts and Education (SHAE) Academy

Moree Plains Shire Council 

Miyay Birray (Youth Service)

Aboriginal Affairs NSW

NSW AECG 





Common themes and concerns were expressed in both 
communities and as such, Deadly in Generation STEM 
programs will be similar, while localised, for both regions. 
Further community consultation will take place in 2022.

An Impact Pathway has been drafted that will 
articulate ‘pathways to impact’ and the program 
design has also been informed by ‘What works’ 
in Indigenous STEM education, an important best 
practise summary that came out of the Indigenous 
STEM Education Project monitoring and evaluation. 

The Deadly in Generation STEM program is on track 
to pilot in Moree and Illawarra-Shoalhaven in 2022. 



Focus Area 1
#WithSTEMYouCan campaign

The 2021 #WithSTEMYouCan campaign was developed 
in line with the Generation STEM objective: to 
increase student’s interest in STEM and awareness 
of STEM education and career pathways. 

STEM professionals were invited to share their 
greatest or most interesting career achievements, 
using #WithSTEMYouCan. By sharing these 
achievements, they showcased possibilities of a STEM 
career and broadened students’ awareness of the 
opportunities that STEM career pathways provide. 

Campaign activities

• Events, including a series of #WithSTEMYouCan 
Panel Discussions for students, parents and teachers. 
Our panels bought together some of the brightest 
mind across government, industry, education and 
big tech to discuss the future of STEM careers. 
• Social media: Students were able to see a 
showcase of #WithSTEMYouCan social posts. 
• Website: The site included lesson 
plans and teacher resources. 
• Advertising: The multifaceted campaign also featured 
a paid social campaign targeting students and 
advertising with the Careers with STEM website.
• In-classroom experiences: Immersion days were 
run where schools planned a whole day event for 
students to work on STEM CPP including meeting with 
their mentor and watching #WithSTEMYouCan or a 
masterclass. Given its success, immersion days are now 
a suggested activity for teachers and included in the 
content of Teacher Professional Learning (TPL) Day.


Results

• 114 organic social media mentions and hashtag uses, 
resulting in a reach of over 1.6 million accounts
• 100+ people attended the virtual Panel Discussions 
• 1133 website visits
• Paid campaign results: 361,604 impressions 
(newsfeed appearance), 70,853 accounts reach, 
956 link clicks for more information


Post panel discussion polls revealed 93% of the 
audience (who responded to the survey) found the panel 
discussion informative and 73% were more likely to choose 
a STEM elective subject after attending the session. 

#WithSTEMYouCan is not limited for use only in 2021. 
Content is still available on csiro.au for public access 
and the hashtag is being used for Generation STEM 
social media posts. This message will continue into 
2022 as an ongoing theme for Generation STEM. 



Focus Area 2
Generation STEM Links

The Generation STEM Links program provides high-quality internships and workplace skills 
to support tertiary students’ transition into STEM jobs after graduation. The program also 
aims to strengthen connections between industry and tertiary education institutions.

Generation STEM Links progressed through two stages in 2021

2021 key activities

Stage 1: Program development

• Identified program model with evidence of success
• Proposed program to Consultative Council 
and approved as part of Operational Plan 2
• Developed Impact Pathway and 
established program outcomes
• Explored approaches to program delivery 
including identifying and pursuing 
potential partnership opportunities 
• Developed program delivery guidelines


Stage 2: Program establishment

• Engaged CSIRO SME team to collaborate 
on delivery of program
• Established key program processes
– Key messaging and communication collateral 
– Application documents eg. Eligibility 
guidelines, EOI forms
– Impact and Evaluation plan



• Opened for applications for a soft launch 
and trial of 2022 placements


Key results

6 industry 
partners applied 

• Illawarra-Shoalhaven 
• Riverina-Murray
• Western Sydney


21 industry partners 
in the pipeline

• Agriculture
• Construction
• IT
• Manufacturing


44 students applied 

• University of Technology Sydney
• Western Sydney University
• University of Wollongong
• University of Newcastle
• TAFE Ultimo


2022 opportunity

In 2021 the number of industry partners showing interest in engaging 
TAFE/VET students outnumbered the number of opportunities available to them. 
With many existing work placement programs directed at University students, 
bridging this gap is a strategic priority for Generation STEM Links in 2022.



Data Insights projects

In the design and monitoring of the program, Generation 
STEM has faced a number of data-related issues including:

• Appropriately designing, targeting, and tailoring 
programs to different student cohorts. 
• Obtaining sufficiently detailed and timely 
data to inform program decision making.
• Assessing the impact of STEM education programs, 
particularly difficulties obtaining student level data 
and the benchmarking of outcome achievement. 


These challenges are not unique to Generation STEM, 
with other organisations delivering STEM education 
programs in Australia grappling with the same issues. 

In 2021, the Generation STEM Impact and Evaluation 
team explored the opportunity for Generation STEM to 
be the catalyst to potentially address these challenges 
through one or more data insights projects. 

Two projects were proposed and approved to progress:

PROJECT 1

STEM education outcomes framework

PROJECT 2

STEM education predictive analytics tool

Potential: Widely utilised STEM education-specific 
outcomes framework that standardises approaches to 
evaluating success of interventions.

Potential: World-first STEM education specific analytics 
tool spanning STEM pipeline; can identify and help 
address leaks before they happen.

Points of difference: Compared to many existing 
education evaluation/ outcomes frameworks:

• STEM-education specific
• Covers entire STEM pipeline
• Inclusive of range of outcomes beyond academic 
achievement
• Identifies specific variables 
• Provides scales/measurement and data guidance
• Bank of standardised evidence over time


Partners: Opportunity to partner with a number 
of organisations (government, university, industry, 
philanthropic) to develop and use the a predictive and/
or causal model informing education interventions, 
particularly if linked to social equity outcomes.

2021 – Key activities (post-approval)

• Project plan developed including scope, timelines and 
potential partnerships approach.
• Initial scan of research and literature conducted.
• Recruitment of a research officer to undertake 
framework development.


• Draft hypotheses for the project developed, including 
exemplar student pathways in the STEM pipeline. 
• ‘Proof of concept’ partner identified, and Catholic 
Education Diocese of Parramatta have agreed 
in-principle.
• CSIRO Ethics application (waiver of consent) and draft 
collaboration agreement developed to formalise 
arrangements.








Program insights

Monitoring program impact is a 
priority underlying all Generation 
STEM programs. It provides ongoing 
evidence about the implementation 
and effectiveness of the Generation 
STEM program, and informs 
continuous improvement.

In 2021, data was collected and analysed to 
identify key program insights relating to STEM 
CPP (the only program fully operational). 

Data collected included 112 student surveys (around 10% 
of participants), post-event questionnaires representing 
the views of 165 participants, and qualitative data 
from interviews to inform the insights report. 

Other data sources are in progress, including a 
data request to the New South Wales Government 
for subject selection data, with an initial trial 
available in the first quarter of 2022.

Other data sources are in progress, including a data 
request to the NSW Department of Education and NSW 
Education Standards Authority for subject enrolment data.

Key insights

• A statistically significant proportion of students 
reported a positive shift in their interest in learning 
about STEM over the 2021 school year (30 per cent). 
• The inquiry-learning project appears to be 
having the biggest impact on students’ interest 
in STEM (43 per cent of students stated it had 
made them much more interested in STEM).
• The majority of students reported that they felt 
confident about doing well in science (70 per cent). 
• Female students are less likely than male students 
to report being confident about technology 
subjects (48 per cent compared to 59 per cent 
for males), and to have a desire to work in STEM 
(45 per cent compared to 62 per cent for males). 
• Nearly all students reported that STEM CPP had positively 
impacted their problem-solving abilities (96 per cent).


The implementation of STEM CPP has faced 
several challenges, especially with the impacts 
of COVID. Key barriers in 2021 included:

• the postponement of activities and 
specific industry partnerships
• the transition to online delivery for 
several key student activities
• delayed engagement with schools and industry 
mentors, resulting in less-than-ideal collaborations 
between schools and industry partners
• a burdensome consent process for schools and parents. 


Despite these barriers, participating schools and industry 
mentors alike spoke positively about their experience with 
STEM CPP and are keen to remain involved in the program. 

For many schools, the student-led approach to solving 
local community problems has engaged students 
considerably in the STEM inquiry-learning process. 



Conclusion and recommendations

Data from the surveys and interviews indicate the program 
was well received by participating stakeholders, with most 
council staff, teachers and industry mentors indicating 
they are likely to continue with STEM CPP into 2022. 

In 2021 STEM CPP provided schools with the opportunity 
to engage with community and industry in unique ways 
that may not have been possible otherwise. As a result, 
students were exposed to examples of ‘real-life’ 
STEM beyond the standard classroom curriculum. 
This led to a significant increase in many students’ 
interest, awareness, and attitude towards STEM. 

While one of the key benefits of STEM CPP is that it can 
be adapted to each school’s specific context and need, 
this can lead to challenges with its implementation. 
Given STEM CPP is in its first year of substantial growth, 
recommendations are targeted around its processes 
and continual improvement for future years:

1

Continue to build on the 
successes of the program in 
2021, including delivering an 
effective inquiry-project that 
is contributing to an increase 
in students’ 21st century skills, 
and an increase in their interest 
and engagement towards STEM.

2

Further explore gendered 
differences in student outcomes and 
consider tailoring some portions of 
STEM CPP (and/or other Generation 
STEM programs) to address specific 
challenges that young women face 
when pursuing STEM education 
(e.g., low self-efficacy in STEM, 
lack of female role models).

3

Consider the purpose and 
effectiveness of the pre-recorded 
masterclass videos in the suite of 
STEM CPP activities. The purpose 
may need to be revised and/or better 
communicated to teachers and 
students, as it was the least likely to 
lead to increases in interest in STEM 
out of all the STEM CPP activities.

4

Focus on matching schools with 
industry mentors earlier in the 
school year so teachers can more 
effectively use them as a resource 
for their students during the 
entirety of the inquiry-learning 
project. This could be achieved 
by the continual strengthening of 
industry partnerships, and/or by 
having long-standing relationships 
between schools and industry 
mentors, so that existing industry 
mentors are ready to be matched 
and organisations providing new 
mentors are well-prepared to 
commence early in the school year. 

5

Review the current matching 
process undertaken for industry 
mentors and schools. While it is 
important to maintain flexibility 
around the delivery of STEM CPP, 
there appears to be a need to better 
align industry mentors’ expertise 
with the inquiry-learning topics 
being undertaken in schools. This 
should be addressed in conjunction 
with recommendation 4.

6

Explore viable options to provide 
more personalised feedback to 
students on their work in the 
inquiry-learning project. This 
could include having more formal 
feedback processes at the showcase 
event; incorporating a peer-to-peer 
feedback model; or supporting 
mentors in providing feedback to 
their classes. If these options are 
not feasible, for example because 
mentors already volunteer their 
own time to participate in STEM 
CPP, then better managing the 
expectations among students 
should be considered.



Program management

Governance

The Generation STEM Consultative Council was appointed in April 2018. 

The current membership is as of 31 December 2021: 

• Dr David Wright (Chair), Chief Operating Officer and Company Secretary at Food Agility
• Dr David Williams, Executive Director, CSIRO Digital, National Facilities and Collections
• Ms Gail Fulton, Director, CSIRO Future Ways of Working
• Ms Chloe Read, Deputy Secretary, Skills and Higher Education, NSW Department of Education 
• Dr Ian Oppermann, Chief Data Scientist and CEO, NSW Data Analytics Centre
• Gabrielle Trainor AO, Gabrielle Trainor AO, Chair of the Construction Industry Culture Taskforce


Dr David Williams has recently retired from his role as Executive Director at CSIRO 
and consequently stepped down from the Committee in late 2021. As a result, 
there is one additional member yet to be placed in the Consultative Council. A nominee 
is currently being identified and will be confirmed and onboarded in due course.



Appendices

Appendix A: School and student characteristics

This section details the characteristics of the schools that participated in Generation STEM under Focus Area 1 in 2021. 

Number of schools participated in STEM CPP by sector and year

Government

Catholic

Independent

Total

2019–20

15

1

6

22

2021

27

12

8

47

Year on year change

+80%

+1100%

+33%

+114%





Number of schools participated in STEM CPP by LGA and sector

Government

Catholic

Independent

Total

Blacktown

2

3

1

6

Camden

1

0

1

2

Campbelltown

7

1

2

10

Canterbury-Bankstown

5

2

0

7

Fairfield

3

2

0

5

Liverpool

4

3

2

9

Penrith

5

1

2

8

Total

27 (57%)

12 (26%)

8 (17%)

47







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