Indigenous Australians represent 3.8 per cent of our population, yet make up just 0.3 per cent of the engineering workforce. The Wyndham Tech School at Victoria University in Melbourne's west is tackling the problem head on.
As a STEM Centre of Excellence based on the Victoria University (VU) Werribee Campus, Wyndham Tech School (WTS) offers programs, projects and spaces that integrate technology across all subjects, driving the use of problem-solving, design-thinking and project management.
From programs combining artificial intelligence (AI) with storytelling, applying engineering to health care, and robotics in water management, the overwhelming demand shows the growing interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education.
Acting as a hub for secondary schools within Wyndham and Hobsons Bay, WTS will have delivered industry-driven programs to 13,000 secondary school students from 30 partner schools by the end of 2024.
Partnering with industry
One of these industry-driven programs at WTS is delivered in partnership with Greater Western Water (GWW). The GWW industry program at the tech school provides students with an opportunity to create machine-learning models to detect cracked and blocked pipes in a simulated setting.
Students make use of remotely operated vehicles, providing them with valuable hands-on experience in applying AI and robotics to infrastructure maintenance.
Empowering First Nations youth through technology
Despite increasing access to STEM education, First Nations employment in industry STEM fields remain below target. Though the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander qualified engineers has increased by 170 per cent since 2016, overall they remain a small proportion of the engineering population at just 0.3 per cent.
It is numbers like this that are driving WTS to run innovative programs such as Deadly Tech Day, held twice a year at the Victoria University Werribee campus in Melbourne's western suburbs.
Deadly Tech Day aimed to close the gap in access to tech education for First Nations students, helping them explore new career pathways and encouraging them to continue their education, while demonstrating how technology can be a tool for positive community impact.
"Deadly Tech Day is an opportunity for First Nations students to experiment with new technology and be mentored by accomplished Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander industry professionals," said Ifradh Imthiyas, Industry Specialist at WTS.
"What we are very good at is facilitating industry-driven programs to understand the biggest challenges industry face and then break down the core case studies into actionable programs for students. Once students solve these problems, we provide feedback to the industry partner."
By connecting students with First Nations professionals, Deadly Tech Day emphasises the value of mentorship, role models and community-driven success, offering students the support and guidance needed to flourish in both education and careers.
For Aunty Kym Monohan, Senior First Nations Advisor, GWW, who has volunteered as a mentor at the Deadly Tech Day twice this year, the collaboration is invaluable in encouraging students to develop their interest in STEM, and to see what opportunities are out there.
"Deadly Tech Day is a great opportunity for the kids to understand that there are other First Nations people working in the industry and that they're not going into an unknown space," Monohan said.
We can show them that there are jobs they can do - and that cultural support is available.
For local secondary school students Mason and Bailey, the drawcard was building their coding skills.
"I'm in Year 7 and I've already built one game, I really like learning about tech," Mason said.
"I think coding is a great skill to have that you could use for lots of things - like building Mars rovers or something like that. I think it would be a very good skill to have in the long term," Bailey said.
But it is not just about games and coding. It is also about introducing students to the possibilities STEM provides through interactive workshops that help them to engage in real-world technology applications, fostering problem-solving, critical thinking and creativity, Imthiyas said.
"We have a huge demand for our programs because of the spectrum that it covers. It's interdisciplinary: students can work with AI to understand storytelling, create digital art using AI, or use robots to fix cracked water pipes," he said.
"We help students see that digital technologies are underpinning things that everyone needs to learn in the future."
For Year 10 student Shakiah, Deadly Tech Day is an opportunity to connect with industry professionals and mentors.
"I want to be an electrician or an auto mechanic. So doing this actually helps because there is a lot of problem-solving when you are building games - and you can talk to people about it," she said.
"I've been coming to Wyndham Tech since I was in Year 7, and coming with other Indigenous kids today is a good way to connect as well."
