Uni students act as STEM mentors for high schools

High school students will be able to experience what it is like to study STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) in a university setting under a new science program.

Students from Casuarina Senior College have toured Charles Darwin University’s Casuarina campus science and technology facilities for the beginning of CDU and Inspired NT’s Stage 2 Real Science Program.

Postgraduate students at the university will act as mentors to students from Casuarina Senior College and Darwin High School for the next seven months, guiding them through STEM-related projects from planning and execution to presenting.

The high school students will experience what it’s like to study at university, learn about the tertiary pathways open to them, and develop confidence in themselves and their abilities. Postgraduate students can practice leadership and supervision skills, time management, empathy and flexibility through mentoring.

CDU PhD students Cedric Tan and Girum Gebremeskel Kanno are among this year’s mentors, and both were eager to share their knowledge and their personal and academic journeys into STEM.

Tan’s research involves the development and testing of metals to reduce their damage within corrosive environments, while Kanno is exploring how artificial intelligence can be integrated into the environmental life cycle assessment of healthcare plastic wastes.

“I’m hoping the students will realise that science isn’t necessarily scary,” Tan said.

“It’s a very involved experience. It’s a lot of problem solving and being sure you’re engaged, but if you can find something you’re passionate about, you’re going to get something out of it.”

Program coordinator and CDU Senior Lecturer in STEM Pathways Dr Carla Eisemberg hoped students would learn how science is an accessible pathway.

“The idea you need to be an Einstein to be doing STEM is wrong,” she said.

“We need people with everyday skills to become scientists and engineers, because we need people who have different ways of thinking. There is no innovation without diversity.

“We’re creating an opportunity for our postgraduate students to interact with high school students in a safe way that high school students will learn what university feels like, and at the same time our postgrad students can kickstart their careers as mentors and supervisors.”

Former Casuarina Senior College student Jessie Duncan participated in last year’s program and is now studying a Bachelor of Environmental Sciences at CDU.

“The program opened my eyes to how many opportunities I have in this field, what I want to experience and how in-depth I can go with research,” she said.

“It doesn’t matter how much knowledge of science you already have. You learn everything you need as you go and it’s so beneficial.”

Image caption: CDU student Jessie Duncan and postgrad students Huifeng Wang and Cedric Tan.