UPDATE: Albury High School students are racing towards engineering careers, with a dynamic event hosted by UNSW on August 15, 2023. The initiative aims to inspire regional youth to explore engineering and STEM fields through a hands-on experience with an all-electric formula race car.
Amber Shipard, a Year 11 student at Albury High, is at the forefront of this movement, motivated by her family’s background in electrical engineering. “I just feel like there aren’t as many females in industries like that and I just thought, I’d give it a shot!” she stated passionately during the event.
The Race to Opportunity initiative gathered students from years 10 to 12, showcasing not only the race car but also the potential for careers in engineering. Amber expressed her excitement, saying, “It’s really exciting… they’re giving us the chance to do this.”
Diesel Lions, another enthusiastic participant, shared insights about the experience, noting, “Just insights into mechanical engineering and what the Redback motorsport team does… I just find it interesting with all the hands-on stuff that I could do.” Diesel is contemplating a move to a capital city to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering.
Throughout the week, the UNSW team engaged with students at multiple schools including The Scots School Albury and the Careers in Industry Expo at Wodonga Senior Secondary College. Students received valuable information about university life and career pathways in engineering.
Fourth-year UNSW mechanical engineering student Chelsea Tran, who is responsible for designing the car’s brake system, reflected on the program’s impact. “They found it really helpful, especially the social side of it,” she noted, emphasizing the importance of community and support for students transitioning to larger environments.
Since its inception in 2022, the program has reached over 3,500 students across nine regional high schools, significantly boosting first-year UNSW Engineering enrolments from participating institutions. Darson Li, a lecturer at UNSW, highlighted the program’s goal: “We want to attract talents from regional and rural NSW to study engineering at UNSW and bring the engineering knowledge back to their local communities.”
The race car will also compete annually against other universities across Australia and New Zealand, further enhancing the visibility of engineering as a viable career path for students in regional areas.
As the event wraps up, these students are not only dreaming of futures in engineering; they are taking the first steps toward making those dreams a reality. The excitement surrounding initiatives like this underscores a crucial push for greater diversity in STEM fields, particularly for young women.
Stay tuned for more updates on how initiatives like the Race to Opportunity are transforming the landscape of engineering education for regional students.
