Power of Engineering session at Deakin University exposes female students to new ideas
Students from across the region were engaged at a hands-on female-only engineering workshop in Warrnambool on Wednesday.
Students try their hand at engineering at specialist workshops | Video
Learning: Deakin University final year mechatronics engineering student Lachlan Patrick shows off his robot to Dakota Crawford and Holly Sambell, both 15, from Casterton Secondary College. Pictures: Rob Gunstone
Windy: Bayview College Portland students Ally Bamford, Lilly Perkins, Jemma Chapple and Paije Rose-Maher, all 14, test their wind turbines at Deakin University.
Hands on: Emmanuel College students Millie Kenna, 15, and Thalia Uebergang, 14, hard at work on their wind turbine as part of the Power of Engineering workshop.
Almost 90 students from Emmanuel College, Casterton Secondary College, Bayview College, Brauer College and Heywood Secondary College attended the Power of Engineering event at Deakin University.
The initiative aims to engage and inspire young people to create the future and change the world through engineering. It is also hoped to expose female high school students to engineering and encourage them to consider it as a potential career choice.
Year 9 & 10 girls attend the Power of Engineering day at Deakin University. @WboolStandardpic.twitter.com/V7ABJkqpal
— Rob Gunstone (@RobGunstone) April 18, 2018
Deakin engineering students ran a series of hands-on workshops around virtual reality, robotics, disaster relief and renewable energy to the year nine and 10 students. They also heard from global engineering and and infrastructure advisory company Aurecon’s track and civil engineer Michelle Doolan.
Emmanuel College students Tiara Haberfield and Sarasa Deguchi, both 16, used cardboard and tape to make their own wind turbine and measured the voltage it produced using a multimeter.
Sarasa said it was good to see more girls were studying engineering in the STEAM fields. “It’s good to take all the opportunities you can and get more girls into those workforces.”
It included a number of industry workshops and site tours, including a Wannon Water water treatment plant tour, a Macarthur wind farm visit, the Deakin University marine mapping lab and a Melbourne Metro Rail Authority-led workshop.