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Industry-School Partnership - CSIRO STEM Professionals in Schools

 

[Teachers and STEM professionals on slides on screen smiling, and sharing skills]

 

[The CSIRO logo swirls into the centre of the screen]

 

[Text on screen: STEM Professionals in School]

 

[A hand takes a soldering iron out of its holster]

 

[A student solders a circuit board with the help of a STEM professional]

 

Elizabeth McDonald: 80% of staff who work in the Bureau have a STEM background.

 

[A STEM professional explaining to a young girl how a slinky works]

 

[A STEM professional and two young students watch a pair of electrified pencils in a glass]

 

So it's critical to us as an employer that we

 

[Elizabeth being interviewed in her office the text beside her reading Elizabeth McDonald General Manager, Diversity, Inclusion and STEM, Bureau of Meteorology]

 

have a pipeline of STEM in Maths, Physics, Environmental Sciences.

 

[A teacher and a STEM professional walk together on campus]

 

[A teacher and a STEM professional sit and plan a lesson]

 

Those qualifications lead to a whole range of careers.

 

[A sign reading Australian Government, Bureau of Meteorology]

 

[Text comes on screen reading Industry - School Partnership]

 

Employers at the Bureau of Meteorology have been involved in the STEM Professionals in Schools for a number of years.

 

[Elizabeth and a group of individuals say around a table reading a pamphlet together]

 

[A close-up of the pamphlet reveals the title is Connecting Schools with industry to bring STEM education to life]

 

We've got a workforce who are really passionate about their work, but also who want to engage with their local communities.

 

[A close-up of the inside of the pamphlet and the headings are Australia's leading STEM education volunteer program, and How the program works]

 

The STEM Professionals in Schools Program was the perfect match between CSIRO and the Bureau.

 

[A teacher and STEM professional work beside a laptop to plan their lesson]

 

Teachers really enjoy having STEM professionals coming into the classroom and assisting them with curriculum, and with teaching.

 

[A different pair are working together one of them is pointing to a graph on a computer screen]

 

There's a real appetite in schools in terms of encouraging students to study STEM subjects

 

[Someone is holding a scientific calculator that is showing a cube]

 

To illustrate the range of careers

 

[Someone is attaching two leads to pencils suspended in a glass of water]

 

that become available to them.

 

[An infrared camera is being focused on a student's hand]

 

The STEM professionals they're like the rock stars of the classroom

 

[Two students study a cog mechanism driving a wagon type wheel]

 

[The student further investigates the wheel digital on a laptop with his teacher]

 

And you can see that from the joy, and the engagement of the children.

 

[A close-up of a globe and an atlas]

 

It's really good practice in terms of presentation the way that they interact and present their knowledge in a more simplified way.

 

[A STEM professional is teaching a class, he points to a student with a raised hand]

 

Teaching about weather, climate,

 

[A close-up of a mobile with a sign saying Thinker]

 

Water in an environment where critical thinking is becoming increasingly important

 

[A STEM professional is showing a student a piece of equipment and explaining it in greater detail]

 

for the future of Australia, and the knowledge economy.

 

[A teacher and a STEM professional sit together planning their next lesson]

 

[The scientist points out a propeller on a drone]

 

To get involved in the program the easiest way is just to get onto the website.

 

[Elizabeth directs a woman on a computer to something using the mouse]

 

[The CSIRO website is on the computer screen]

 

CSIRO provides all of the police checks, and the working with children checks which are different in every single state and territory.

 

[Elizabeth is showing another scientist the CSIRO website]

 

To have CSIRO undertake all of that on our behalf is such a great benefit.

 

[A couple of connecting schools pamphlets on a table, the camera focuses in on the CSIRO logo]

 

There's holistic benefit around knowing that you're giving back to the community, and that they're inspiring

 

[A sign on the glass outside an office door reading Australia Government, Bureau of Meteorology]

 

the next generation of STEM professionals.

 

[The CSIRO logo pops into the centre of the screen, underneath is written Australia's National Science Agency]

 

[An equation of logos is on the screen with a graduation cap representing teacher, then a plus sign adding it to a STEM professional symbolized by a molecule logo.]

 

[The equals symbol then connects to a gear logo representing partnership.]

 

[A circle graph titled Schools with different colours for different percentages on screen, Catholic being 16.3%, Government being 65.8%, Independent/Private being 16.8% and other being 1.1%]

 

[A map symbolizing national reach with a circle graph to one side. the text under the graph reads "with 29% in regional and remote areas.]

 

[On the map going clockwise NT 1.5%, QLS 20.8%, NSW 20.9%, ACT 5.9%, TAS 5.2%, VIC 23.9%, SA 8%, WA 13.8%.]

 

[A graph titled STEM Professionals, the circle graph showing percentages by gender with female at 43.2%, male at 56.6%, and not specified at 0.2%. The text under the graph reads note Female STEM professional representation is significantly higher than the national female STEM qualified population of 17 percent overall asterisk leading to a footnote "from the 2020 program evaluation.]

 

[Text on centre screen reads The STEM Professionals in Schools project is funded by the Australian Government Department of Education, Skills and Employment. At the bottom of the screen is reads The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the Australian Government Department of Education, Skills and Employment.]

 

[New Screen, text reading STEM Professionals in Schools would like to thank: Elizabeth McDonald, Bureau of Meteorology]

 

[Fade to black]

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Are you interested in becoming part of STEM Professionals in Schools?  Join the Program!

STEM Professionals in Schools is Australia’s largest national skilled volunteering program creating ongoing and flexible partnerships between teachers and STEM professionals . The program provides an opportunity for organisations and individuals with STEM expertise to partner with teachers to contribute to developing the STEM talent needed for the future. Each partnership assists and equips teachers and STEM professionals to showcase for students the relevance of STEM knowledge and applications in everyday life, and what STEM careers have to offer.

Every partnership is a bespoke arrangement between the STEM professional and the teacher based on local context, curriculum and student needs, and expertise. The program is free to join, and priorities of STEM professionals, for example regional and remote areas, can be indicated when registering for the program.

How can the program benefit industry?

The program has been independently evaluated on a number of occasions since its inception in 2007. These evaluations found that partnerships are effective in delivering benefits for teachers, students and STEM professionals. The most recent evaluation reported that industry and university employers receive benefits over and above those received by the individual STEM professionals participating in the program.

Program eligibility

  • Minimum of a bachelor degree in a STEM field; or
  • Evidence* of equivalent experience in a STEM field
  • The ability to obtain and/or provide evidence of the relevant Working with Children/Vulnerable People check and National Police Certificate as part of the CSIRO Child Safe procedure

* Evidence may include a letter of endorsement, supervisor support, Curriculum Vitae or similar.

Child Safe Standards

As part of the program's mandate to keep all children and young people safe, all STEM professionals who undertake any type of interaction with students are required by state and federal governments to undergo security screening. You must provide evidence of the relevant Working With Children/Vulnerable People Check and National Police Certificate as part of CSIRO's Child Safe Policy.

If you don't have this documentation, the STEM Professionals in Schools team can support you to obtain it and cover the associated costs. Evidence of the completed checks must be provided before a partnership is made.

Working with Children Checks accepted

Table 1: WORKING WITH CHILDREN CHECKS ACCEPTED
Australian Capital Territory Working with Vulnerable People registration Access Canberra
New South Wales Working with Children check NSW Office of the Children's Guardian
Northern Territory Ochre Card SAFE NT
Queensland Blue card Queensland Government
South Australia Working with Children Check Department of Human Services
Tasmania Registration to working with vulnerable people Tasmanian Government
Victoria Working with Children check Working With Children Check Victoria
Western Australia Working with Children check Government of Western Australia

How to... Guide for Industry

By encouraging your staff to get involved your organisation is helping to develop the scientific literacy of students, enriching your relationships with clients and the broader community, and positioning your workplace as an employer of choice. Download our How to Guide for Industry PDF (160 KB) to get involved.

More information

We can assist if you need help to arrange your checks. To find out more, contact us.

Contact us

Find out how we can help you and your business. Get in touch using the form below and our experts will get in contact soon!

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