Academies of STEM Excellence

The Cessnock Academy of STEM Excellence (CASE) resides on the lands of the Wonnarua Nation and is an initiative of the Cessnock High School Learning Community (CHSLC) and the NSW Department of Education. This learning community has resulted from a collaboration between Cessnock High School and five local partner primary schools of Abermain, Cessnock, Cessnock East, Kearsley and Kitchener.

The main purpose of the CASE is to improve the expert knowledge of STEM for the teachers of the CHSLC, to engage them in future-focused learning and teaching practices, and to inspire passion for STEM in their students.

CASE has become such a success that the NSW Minister for Education identified it as “being at the forefront of innovative education”. CASE become a pilot program for the STEM Industry Schools Partnership (SISP) program. 

The Central Coast Academy of STEM Excellence (CCASE) resides on Darkinjung Country, respectfully acknowledging the traditional custodians of the land. Operating across multiple Principal Networks. Supporting over 55 schools and collaborating with over 900 teachers, to provide engaging STEM opportunities to more than 16,000 students since its establishment in 2020.

CCASE's mission is to inspire the community and foster STEM learning, building knowledge and skills for shaping the future. Through professional learning opportunities, CCASE empowers teachers with resources and fosters high-quality practice in STEM pedagogy, resulting in increased student engagement, participation, and aspirations in STEM. 

The STEM Project Officer, Nikyetta Pencheff in 2022 received the NSW Minister's Award for Teaching Excellence that acknowledges the establishment of sustainable professional learning communities, improving learning outcomes and engagement for all students in STEM, and Parliamentary Recognition Statement delivered in Parliament by Adam Crouch Parliamentary Secretary for the Central Coast, recognising strong contributions to teaching excellence in Public Education and dedication to innovative STEM focused education across the Central Coast, NSW. In 2023 received NSW Local Government Excellence Award for community development population over 150,000, for collaborations in developing and delivering Fire-ED Up – Bushfire Resilience Program.

CCASE is committed to fostering strong partnerships within the educational community and cultivating local industry relations in the fields of Food, Health, and Agriculture. Our focus is on creating innovative curriculum delivery methods that enhance teacher confidence, improve student ability in STEM, and inspire their aspirations for future careers in STEM fields. We aim to maintain and further develop these partnerships to ensure impactful and engaging STEM education experiences for all.

Curriculum collaborations with industry include; 

• Award Winning Stage 3: Fire-ED Up - A Bushfire Resilience Program was created as a collaborative effort with Rumbalara Environmental Education Centre, sponsored by Central Coast Council.  This program aims to support students by minimizing anxiety and enhancing their understanding of bushfire safety and resilience in the context of the local environment on the Central Coast. Through engaging activities and resources, it equips students with the necessary knowledge and skills to navigate stressful events like bushfires, fostering resilience and preparedness.

• Early Stage 1 – Stage 5: iBelong: Dreamtime Mathematics series created in collaboration with a Mathematics head teacher, Aboriginal Education Officers, and Kuriwa AECG, this series integrates Aboriginal Dreaming stories into STEM activities to enhance learning Mathematics outcomes. It not only delivers educational content but also fosters relationships and connections with local Aboriginal stories and communities, promoting cultural understanding and appreciation for all students.

• Stage 3 – Stage 5: iBelong: The Indigenous Harvest series collaboratively created involving teachers, Aboriginal producer IndigiGrow, Aboriginal Strategic Delivery Officers, AECGs, and Aboriginal community members, providing  a continuum of learning in Science and Technology, Technology Mandatory, and Food Technology. With the support of Training Services NSW and Regional Industry Education Partnerships, this series delivers highly engaging lessons centered around traditional recipes that incorporate Indigenous plants and knowledge. By incorporating Indigenous perspectives, it promotes quality education and cultural appreciation among students.

• All Stages: Waste Reduction Action Plan (W.R.A.P.) collaboratively created with Rumbalara Environmental Education Centre and Environmental Protection Agency to develop and deliver to reduce waste from schools that contributes to landfill and climate change.

• Stage 3 & 4: Digital Ambassadors, collaboratively created with NBN Co., creating digital inclusion and educating the most vulnerable demographics in our community from security breaches.

• Stage 4 & 5: The Orbispace Initiative and The Academy of Enterprising Girls, empowering the next generation of Australian female innovators by inspiring and equipping them with the skills and mindsets needed to succeed.

• Stage 4 & 5 ISTEM: MedTech Ampcontrol program, involving innovative engineers creating an improvised ventilation system to support NSW Health during COVID in a 3 week timeframe. Students address real-world problems engineers faced and problem-solve engaging tasks to learn practical knowledge and skills of the engineering profession.

The Crookwell Academy of STEM Excellence (CASE) is based at Crookwell High School (CHS) in the Upper Lachlan shire within the Southern Inland region. CASE includes approximately 20 schools in a hub and spoke model. CHS is the hub school, and its partner primary schools are the spokes. This has grown to include schools from the Wingecarribee, Upper Lachlan, Goulburn Mulwaree, Hilltops and Yass Valley councils. Partnerships with the schools and local libraries have been developed to encourage the use of STEM in all areas of learning. The focus areas for CASE are Renewable Energy, Waste Management, Manufacturing, AgriTech and linking STEM to literacy and future career development. 

With a population of over 200,000 people, the Southern Inland is uniquely located between the two biggest population centres and domestic economies in Australia – Sydney and Melbourne. The region joins some of Australia’s oldest inland settlements, such as Bowral and Goulburn, to places surrounding the ACT which have some of the highest rates of population growth in inland Australia – places thriving on digital connectivity and a highly skilled workforce. The region is on a growth path, with recent years seeing major investments in agriculture, waste management, renewable energy and advanced manufacturing. The region has abundant renewable energy resources and is home to world-leading renewable energy research and development. CASE has formed strong industry links with Gullen Range Wind and Solar Farm; Crookwell 2 Wind Farm; Taralga Wind Farm; Taralga Wind Farm, Cullerin Wind Farm; GoTerra; Woodlawn Bioreactor; Australian Agriculture Centre and the Australian Wool Innovation.

Building teacher STEM capacity is a major focus. CASE focuses on improving teachers’ confidence and ability to embed technology and the STEM design thinking process into their curriculum. Regular professional learning is provided to staff within the program coordinated by our STEM Project Officer. Through the delivery of interactive professional development, joint program planning with Industry participation, and providing equipment and resources, CASE is greatly improving the delivery of STEM learning within our region.

The Coastal Learning Community (CLC) Academy of STEM Excellence is situated on the Far North Coast of NSW, within close proximity to the QLD border. The Academy includes Kingscliff High School and five local primary schools.

Commencing in 2021, CLC ASE was established as a smaller version of the NSW Regional STEM Academies. The key aims of the Academy are to:

*  establish a STEM community and partnerships

*  increase STEM opportunities for all students in the CLC

*  support schools to engage with STEM, industry and future focused learning

CLC ASE engages a team of STEM Teachers to participate in planning, team teaching and collaboration in STEM activities and differentiated teaching strategies. The aim is to build a network of mentors with increased confidence and skills to engage in STEM and future focused teaching and learning. The team is led by a part-time STEM Project Officer, who regularly visits schools to assist in professional development, team teaching and planning.

Commencing this year, the joint STEM Officers held a planning day focusing on building skills in STEM pedgogies and cross-curricular subject delivery. A key focus is the STEM design and problem-solving process aimed at strengthening skills in teamwork, collaborative learning and inquiry-based learning.

STEM learning opportunities have been provided within the CLC for the last few years via annual inter-school events. The annual Mousetrap Challenge evening is an example of a major event. This year student teams are learning to use the STEM design process to present their vehicles and STEM design folios to a panel of judges. Students also participate in a distance challenge and STEM trivia quiz to test skills learnt at school through the challenge.

Opportunities are also provided for staff and students to engage in professional development and problem solving in digital technologies. An annual STEM Challenge Day is held, where students partake in activities in a variety of team challenges, including simple tower engineering challenges to Lego NXT Robotics Challenges.

The next goal of the Academy will be to establish further links with local universities, industry and businesses to increase student interest to pursue careers in STEM, and to link learning experiences with local industry. The region has traditionally provided employment in rural industries, retail, building and construction and tourism. There will also be growth in health and education with the construction of the new Tweed Hospital and growing population.

The Hunter Academy of STEM Excellence, as a relatively new formation, has now expanded its impact to include over 10 schools from primary to secondary. The Academy will continue to grow as demand increases year to year. 

The Hunter region is known for its large coal and gas mining industries as well as aluminium and steel manufacturing. The region is also experiencing rapid growth in tourism, retail, and viticulture. There are excellent employment opportunities in education and health with the University of Newcastle and Hunter New England Health both expanding. 

The development of strong industry partnerships provides opportunities for excursions, guest speakers, work experience, and many other educational experiences for students associated with the Hunter Academy. These connections provide a unique opportunity to link learning to the local area while showcasing a range of career paths in STEM to students. As the Hunter Academy grows, existing and new partnerships will develop as part of the role of the STEM Project Officer. 

Our partnership with the Magnitude.io and the Powerhouse Museum Future Space program has allowed Maitland Grossmann High to take part in ground trials utilising the Exolab technology to complete experiments here on Earth in partnership with those being conducted on the International Space Station. This connection forms part of a larger relationship with the burgeoning Australian Space Agency as well as the Aldrin Maps Foundation which will see an innovative STEM program being built within the Hunter and delivered across the state. 

The Hunter Academy focuses on improving teachers’ confidence and ability to embed technology and the STEM design thinking process into their curriculum. Through the delivery of interactive professional development, joint program planning, and team teaching the Hunter Academy is greatly improving the delivery of STEM learning across all subjects. One of our targets is to increase STEM engagement and opportunities of all students with a particular focus on First Nations and female students. Examples of such successes can be seen through the strong involvement of HASE schools with the Orbispace Initiative which grows the capacity of young female entrepreneurs of the future in STEM. The inclusion of the STEM design thinking pedagogy in all subject areas combined with the use of technology increasing student engagement in learning, improving their skills and career opportunities. 

The Illawarra Academy of STEM excellence is based in the Illawarra region and currently includes three secondary schools, Corrimal, Lake Illawarra and Warrawong High School.

The Illawarra region covers an area of 1,124 square kilometres and has a population of approximately 280,000. The dominant industry in the region is steelmaking and its downstream businesses.

IASE’s major industry partner, BlueScope is one of the largest global producers of metal coated and painted steel building products, employing around 3,000 directly in the Illawarra and supports about 10,000 contractors, suppliers and other service providers.

BlueScope accounts for more than $2 billion in sales and has a production capacity of approximately 2.6 million tonnes of steel per annum. BlueScope has strong ties with the local community and promote their cadetship and traineeship program within local schools.

Some opportunities and experiences that the Illawarra Academy of STEM Excellence promote and engage with are, Advanced Manufacturing and Industry 4.0, The Orbispace Initiative, Future of Female Leadership Forum, The Smith Family Young ICT Explorers (YICTE) challenge, BlueScope Cadetship forums, Inside Industry Bluescope tours, Illawarra Medical Health and Research Institute Community Lab visits, ANSTO challenge days, CSIRO Deadly in Generation STEM, University of Wollongong STEM Outreach programs and supporting teacher professional learning opportunities.

The Illawarra Academy of STEM excellence schools have embedded STEM into the curriculum in Stage 4 and Stage 5 classrooms to maximise the student exposure to STEM pedagogies underpinned by the design thinking process. Student engagement and teacher capacity in STEM has markedly increased since the commencement of the SISP partnership in July 2020.

The Lower Baaka Academy of STEM Excellence (LBASE) is based at Wentworth Public School, on Barkindji Country, where the Murray River meets the Darling River (Baaka).

The LBASE includes two primary schools and one high school in 2023 delivering STEM opportunities to over 300 students. The LBASE has a particular focus on embedding Aboriginal perspectives and pedagogy in the STEM process, with over 50% of students in the LBASE identifying as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.

The Sunraysia is predominantly a farming region, known for producing most of Australia’s dried grapes, with more than 300 growers producing dried grapes from around 3,500 hectares of irrigated land. Living and working alongside the Murray and Darling Rivers, means that the students within the LBASE have real-world knowledge of working on the land. The LBASE has formed a working partnership with local Landcare environmental groups and will be conducting experiments on the water health of the river in 2023.

A goal of the LBASE for 2023, is to provide opportunities for the primary schools to collaborate with the local high school in STEM mentorship afternoons, support Stage 3 to Stage 4 transition, and be involved in a sound engineering community project to commemorate the towns 100-year anniversary celebrations. Five students from Coomealla High School will also be involved in the excursion to Sydney for ‘The Orbispace Initiative’ STEM program.

Building teacher capacity to embed the STEM process across curriculums in a priority for the LBASE; team teaching with the STEM Project Officer and classroom teachers as well as providing professional learning opportunities will be paramount in increasing this capacity over 2023 and the future. 

The Murrumbidgee Academy of STEM Excellence (MASE) is based at Murrumbidgee Regional High School (MRHS) in the city of Griffith in the Riverina region. The MASE includes approximately 20 schools in a hub and spoke model. MRHS is the hub school and its partner primary schools are the spokes. Leeton High School and its partner primary schools also participate in the program. The focus areas for MASE are Agri-Tech, Advanced Manufacturing and the Virtual STEM Academy. 

Home to 171,855 people, the Riverina Region supports 75,265 jobs and has an annual economic output of $26.586 billion. Griffith contributes $1.87 billion of this with its 12,616 jobs with 17.4% of these being in manufacturing.

Stretching 500kms from east to west across south-central NSW, the Riverina region covers an area of almost 80,000 square kilometres. The region is home to approximately 171,000 people (2019 ERP), many who rely on the region’s largest employer – agriculture and related businesses – for their livelihood.

Building teacher STEM capacity is a major focus for the MASE. A dedicated STEM Maker Space has been provided by Murrumbidgee Regional High School equipped with a wide range of STEM resources. Regular professional learning is provided to staff within the program coordinated by our STEM Project Officer. Partner Primary Schools are invited to hold their staff meetings in this space where the SISP program is outlined and items from the lending library are showcased. We also invite STEM classes to use the Maker Space for dedicated STEM lessons.

The MASE has strong links with a number of STEM providers including STELR, STILE, Maths On-Line, Pitsco, the Aldrin Foundation, Share Space, iSee, the Queensland Virtual STEM Academy and Grok.

Other projects being worked on in 2021 include the International Rover Challenge (iROC) with Pitsco and the Aldrin Foundation, the Australia New Zealand STEM Education Alliance (ANZSEA), CyberSecurity, the MASE F1 in Schools program, the MASE Aeronautical Velocity Challenge and the University of Newcastle Smart  Science Shows and Science and Engineering Challenge.

A significant project being developed in 2020 - 2021 is the creation of the NSW Virtual STEM Academy being hosted at Murrumbidgee Regional High School. This initiative has been an ongoing collaboration between the Queensland Virtual STEM Academy, the SISP Program and the Murrumbidgee Academy of STEM Excellence. The first cohort of students will undertake lessons in STEM enrichment in semester two of 2021. The VSA will provide STEM enrichment for students from years 5 – 9 inspiring a passion and aspiration for STEM through innovative learning, enriching opportunities and transformational partnerships. 

Established in 2023, the Newcastle Academy of STEM Excellence resides on Awabakal Land in the Newcastle region of New South Wales, located at the Hunter School of Performing Arts.

Newcastle is a vibrant and growing regional city located on the east coast of New South Wales, approximately two hours' drive north of Sydney. With a population of over 320,000 people, it is the second largest city in the state and serves as a hub for education, research, and industry in the Hunter region. The region has a strong history of innovation, with a focus on industries such as mining, manufacturing, and energy production. In recent years, there has been a growing demand for skills in STEM fields, with a particular focus on advanced manufacturing, engineering, and renewable energy. Newcastle is home to several world-class research institutions, including the University of Newcastle and the Hunter Medical Research Institute, and has a thriving startup ecosystem.

The establishment of the Newcastle Academy of STEM Excellence under the SISP program will build on this strong regional background and help to position the region for continued growth and success in the years ahead.

The Rivers Academy of STEM Excellence is on Bundjalung country in the Northern Rivers region of NSW and includes three high schools, seven primary schools and one school for specific purposes.

The Northern Rivers region is traditionally known for rural industries, tourism and alternative lifestyles. Currently the area is experiencing rapid growth in retail, building and construction, tourism and hospitality. Employment in the health, education and community services sectors is growing, including opportunities for highly-skilled professionals.

RASE has formed strong industry partnerships with local companies, which has seen them being involved in various projects in schools.  These include small-scale solar industry sector with innovative renewable energy projects and a start-up microalgae company focusing on addressing climate change.

Each year, RASE holds an academy-wide challenge involving almost 500 students.  Students use the STEM design thinking process to create their solutions. The Solar RASE and the Bottle Rocket Challenge are the culmination of units of work in both primary and high schools.

RASE has a strong focus on building teacher confidence and capacity to embed the STEM design thinking process into their practice through authentic projects. Through the delivery of professional development, joint planning and co-teaching opportunities, along with the inclusion of STEM design thinking pedagogy in school plans across the academy, RASE is having a positive impact on improving the STEM capability and aspiration of students.

The academy is the recipient of a Schools Plus grant aimed at supporting teachers to embed the STEM design thinking process across the curriculum, and aiding transition to high school. The success of RASE has also been recognised through a Secretary’s Commendation for School Achievement and a Secretary’s Award for Outstanding School Initiative. 

The Rivers Academy of STEM Excellence is on Bundjalung country in the Northern Rivers region of NSW and includes three high schools, seven primary schools and one school for specific purposes.

The Northern Rivers region is traditionally known for rural industries, tourism and alternative lifestyles. Currently the area is experiencing rapid growth in retail, building and construction, tourism and hospitality. Employment in the health, education and community services sectors is growing, including opportunities for highly-skilled professionals.

RASE has formed strong industry partnerships with local companies, which has seen them being involved in various projects in schools.  These include small-scale solar industry sector with innovative renewable energy projects and a start-up microalgae company focusing on addressing climate change.

Each year, RASE holds an academy-wide challenge involving almost 500 students.  Students use the STEM design thinking process to create their solutions. The Solar RASE and the Bottle Rocket Challenge are the culmination of units of work in both primary and high schools.

RASE has a strong focus on building teacher confidence and capacity to embed the STEM design thinking process into their practice through authentic projects. Through the delivery of professional development, joint planning and co-teaching opportunities, along with the inclusion of STEM design thinking pedagogy in school plans across the academy, RASE is having a positive impact on improving the STEM capability and aspiration of students.

The academy is the recipient of a Schools Plus grant aimed at supporting teachers to embed the STEM design thinking process across the curriculum, and aiding transition to high school. The success of RASE has also been recognised through a Secretary’s Commendation for School Achievement and a Secretary’s Award for Outstanding School Initiative.