• Charles Sturt University agrees to provide learning materials for NSW Department of Education’s iTeachStem website
• Faculty of Business, Justice and Behavioural Sciences experts to contribute to invaluable resource for high school students
• Partnership comes on the back of the University’s successful contribution to ‘STEM 2020 On Demand: Strategies for a Rapidly Changing World’

Charles Sturt University has further cemented its support for NSW’s next generation of STEM students by agreeing to provide expert-generated learning materials for one of the NSW Department of Education’s flagship websites.

Charles Sturt will be the leading university providing teaching materials for the iTeachStem website, a resource for NSW high school students studying science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) courses.

Academics from the Faculty of Business, Justice and Behavioural Sciences, including from CSU Engineering and the School of Mathematics and Computing, will help populate the website with learning material related to their fields of expertise.

The website is a product of the STEM Industry School Partnerships (SISP) program, which is run by the NSW Department of Education and delivered in association with Regional Development Australia.

Executive Dean of the Faculty Professor Tracey Green said the first-of-its-kind partnership would help steer high school students with an interest in STEM towards higher education and career opportunities in their chosen fields.

“The University, and especially the Faculty of Business, Justice and Behavioural Sciences, has been working alongside the SISP team and in association with Regional Development Australia to develop programs and opportunities for students in the STEM fields for a number of years,” she said.

“Our academics and experts have played important roles in delivering projects like the award-winning Girls In Cyber Security Advancing course, the ‘Girls Day Out in STEM’, hackathons and collaborative robotics competitions.

“Charles Sturt University is proud and excited to expand on its commitment to ensuring the next generation of STEM students have the best learning resources available to them.”

Project Leader of the SISP program, Dr Scott Sleap, said he anticipates the partnership will deliver significant benefits for education in regional NSW.

“As Project Leader of the STEM Industry School Partnerships program, I am delighted to welcome Charles Sturt University as an official industry partner, and to further consolidate our previously-established relationship,” he said.

The agreement comes on the back of the ongoing success of ‘STEM 2020 On Demand: Strategies for a Rapidly Changing World’, for which Charles Sturt is in an-kind sponsor.

Originally planned as a series of workshops and lectures to be held in Port Macquarie, Bathurst, Wagga Wagga and Newcastle, the 2020 STEM Conference was changed to an online, on-demand format when COVID-19 public gathering restrictions were implemented.

Since the learning materials were published online on Monday 27 April, more than 5,000 students and teachers from 13 countries have accessed them.

As a key partner of the event, Charles Sturt also provided seven experts who recorded presentations: Senior Lecturer in Genetics and Gene Technologies Dr Nigel Urwin; Senior Lecturer in Medical Imaging Mr Johnathan Hewis; Senior Engineer in Residence Mr Peter Thew; Lecturer in Exercise Science – Biomechanics Dr Kerry Mann; Lecturer in Rural Health with Three Rivers University Department of Rural Health Dr Pip Southwell; Project Lead of the eXtended Reality Centre Professor Eleanor Gates-Stuart; and Lecturer in Animation and Visual Effects Mr Andrew Hagan.

They are joined by some of the world’s leading experts in innovation and STEM, including Sir Ken Robinson, Professor Lisa Harvey-Smith, Dr Jordan Nguyen, Ms Felicity Furey, Dr Alan Finkel, AO, Dr Jenine Beekhyzen, Dr Karl Kruszelnicki, AO, Ms Suzy Urbaniak, and Mr Adam Spencer.

Charles Sturt University’s Director of External Engagement for Port Macquarie Ms Kate Wood-Foye said the University was delighted to partner on such an innovative project and has played a pivotal role in workshop programming, in both its original and current forms.

“The original 2020 STEM Conference workshop program was led by, and had a strong representation from, the Faculty of Business, Justice and Behavioural Sciences, but, sadly, many of their hands on workshops were not able to be converted to the online format in time,” she said.

“Regardless, Charles Sturt University provided a strong selection of STEM academics for the hugely successful ‘on-demand’ format, and I would encourage all educators with an interest in STEM to make use of their generous expertise.”

Registrations for ‘STEM 2020 On Demand: Strategies for a Rapidly Changing World’ are still open here, with learning materials and workshops able to be viewed until Monday 27 July.