WA Food Industry Education Collaboration 

The WA Food Industry Education Collaboration (WAFEC) provides high‑quality 
internships to help businesses access new skills and expertise, and tertiary students to 
gain workplace experience and transition into STEM jobs within the WA food and 
beverage sector. 

STEM student internship examples 

STEM Field 

Project summary 

Student skills 

Food Science 

Conduct desktop research focussing on new 
functional ingredients or processes to determine 
which would be most suitable to be utilised in 
business applications. 

*this could also be a project for any STEM field 
dependent on the subject matter 

• Experience conducting a literature review 

• Interest in subject matter 

Food or 
Agricultural 
Science 

Assisting in collecting and analysing data from 
various sources including trials, experiments, and 
on-site data. Helping to maintain records and 
assisting in report preparation. Also aiding in the 
assistance of industry trends, competitor 
activities and market opportunities. 

• A strong interest in subject matter 

• Problem-solving skills and a willingness to learn 

• Knowledge of data analysis tools and software 

Food Science or 
Oenology 

Utilising understanding of microbiology and/or 
chemistry to conduct experiments and explore 
recipe alterations, shelf-life variations, and/or 
fining trials. 

• Knowledge of subject matter 

• Knowledge of laboratory tests 

• Understanding of data analysis 

• Problem-solving skills and a willingness to learn 

Engineering - 
general 

Software, Mechanical, and Electrical Engineering 
projects to support ongoing innovative food or 
beverage packaging projects. 

• Good communications skills, both written and 
verbal. 

• Natural problem solver, who can display ‘out of 
the box’ thinking. 

• Strong technical knowledge in chosen 
specialisation. 

• Willingness to learn new skills and ask 
questions. 

Data science 

Scan, test and import data of different material 
or other physical samples, helping to develop and 
improve any AI technology that will analyse 
and/or catalogue these. 

• Understanding of spectrometry 

• Understanding of theoretical optics 

• Understanding of experimental design 




Engineering - 
processing 

Research and development project to assess new 
equipment / system monitoring performance. 
Key activities will involve the design and 
implementation of various experiments and the 
collection and analysis of results. 

• Good communications skills, both written and 
verbal. 

• Natural problem solver, who can display ‘out of 
the box’ thinking. 

• Strong technical knowledge in chosen 
specialisation. 

• Willingness to learn new skills and ask 
questions. 

Engineering – 
mechanical or 
processing 

Assisting with opportunities for improving 
processes and efficiencies on the manufacturing 
floor. Working to understand the manufacturing 
process, from storage through to assembly and 
quality assurance and suggesting improvements, 
using experience in 3D design and CAD to help 
design solutions that will help optimise 
processes. 

• Proficient in Excel spreadsheets 

• Knowledge in process engineering 

• Basic understanding of working within 
Australian standards 

Data science 

Managing and analysing multiple data sets to 
help inform data driven, sustainable practices in 
food or beverage processing. Clean, manage, 
integrate, and analyse these data sets to discover 
insightful trends and learnings. 

• Experience with data management (cleaning, 
organising, integration) 

• Experience with statistical analysis 

• Experience with programming and AI 
(dependant on business needs) 

Multiple 

Working across various teams to support 
research, due diligence, and new business 
opportunities. 

• Excellent research and data analysis capabilities 

• High attention to detail and ability to handle 
multiple tasks simultaneously 

• Entrepreneurial spirit and a drive to excel 

Multiple 

Monitoring an environment to determine and 
understand issues and potential intervention 
approaches 

• Knowledge of subject environment and 
required STEM skills 

• Knowledge of experimental design and record 
keeping 

• Understanding of data analysis 



 

 

 
For further information 

WA Food Industry Education Collaboration 

Liz Crompton 

+61 8 6436 8695 

wafec@csiro.au 

csiro.au/WAFEC 

As Australia’s national science agency and innovation catalyst, 
CSIRO is solving the greatest challenges through 
innovative science and technology. 

CSIRO. Unlocking a better future for everyone. 

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