Ever wanted to represent Australia? You may have thought that being a cricket, netball or athletics star is the way to  go.

For some top students their scientific knowledge has become their passport to don the Green and Gold and compete for Australia.

The International Science Olympiad is a program where top science students compete in a range of subject areas. This year the Physics students will head to Mexico, Chemistry students to the UK, Biology students to Japan and Infomatics students to Bulgaria.

Last year Australia picked up two gold, six silver and four bronze medals. Good luck to this year’s Olympians and let’s see if we can do better!

(Source: Brisbane Times | Image: Brisbane Times)

‘Anything is possible when you follow your passion…’ That’s the message from the new campaign from the South Australian Government designed to encourage students to study maths and science and look to future careers in the field.

The campaign includes an interactive website, career ambassadors and a competition to win an ultimate worksite visit.

SA Deputy Premier, Kevin Foley announced, “We need more students thinking about careers in science, engineering and technology, as well as the mechanical, electrical and construction trades.” Adding, “Choosing the right subjects in the final years of high school is a vital prerequisite to working in these dynamic sectors.”

South Australia has a high demand for these industries, particularly due to defence, research, information technology and mining sectors.

This is an excellent resource for anyone considering their future. This campaign has the same core goals as EngVibe, so we’re big fans. Check it out, the main site is here:

 www.TheresMoreToIt.com.au

Overall, this is an outstanding initiative by the SA Government.

(Source: SouthAustralia.biz | Image: TheresMoreToIt)

An OECD report has shown that 35 percent of Aussie students that top the class in science have no interest in pursuing a career or further study in a related field. The data comes from a 2006 survey of 15 year olds and found that this proportion is slightly less than the overall OECD average of 40 percent.

Is this to be expected? There is always going to be the group of top students who do well in a range of subjects and then settle on the area that interests them most. No doubt the contrast does also exist where some students perform well in English and then choose to study in engineering or science.

The proposed solutions include making the sciences more appealing and fun for student and to improve the understanding of the career pathways in scientific fields. Agreed.

(Source: AdelaideNow | Image: TheTruthAbout)

Opportunity currently open:

Australian university students with something “eco” on their minds are being asked to step forward with their ideas on sustainable energy solutions for the 2009 Bayer-UNEP Eco-Minds Forum, and be in with a chance to represent Australia at an International Forum in Auckland, New Zealand.

In partnership with the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP), the Bayer Eco-Minds program aims to foster awareness, thirst and passion for the environment amongst students from across the Asia Pacific region. In return, the winning students receive an all expenses paid trip to Auckland for the opportunity to present their ideas and participate in solution-orientated group work, cross-cultural activities and knowledge sharing in a bid to tackle real-life sustainable development issues.

In Australia, the initiative is being supported by leading environmentalist Jon Dee who believes the Eco-Minds Forum is an ideal opportunity for students to put their passion to good use. 

“What better way for young Aussie students to get their suggestions for sustainable energy solutions out there,” says Dee. “Eco-Minds provides the perfect forum for tomorrow’s leaders to exchange ideas with each other in a proactive, pan-Asia effort to make a very real difference to the future of our environment, today.”

2009 will see the third bi-annual Eco-Minds Forum take place. At the 2007 Forum in Thailand, university students Rachel Cain from the University of Adelaide, Laura Joseph from the University of Western Sydney and Eric Knight from Sydney University represented Australia when the best minds from across Asia Pacific came together to explore real-life issues and sustainable development ideas for fresh water supply. 

Rachel Cain, who has been involved with the Youth Environment Council of South Australia, as both a member and mentor, and has completed voluntary work in Central America, says:  “Eco-Minds has helped to fast track my career by providing me with an unforgettable experience to work alongside students from across the region to try and solve issues of sustainability that affect all of us.

“Each student brought their own knowledge and skill-set which helped fuel the discussion and ideas and allowed each of us to learn so much from each other. It’s opened up doors for me and I’ve created some wonderful friendships.” said Ms Cain. 

The 2009 Eco-Minds Youth Forum will focus on a topic that is of growing importance to the world - Sustainable Energy Systems: Challenges and Opportunities. As part of the week-long event, participants will look at some of the challenges around energy supply, including climate change, and the practical solutions that can overcome such challenges with a visit to New Zealand’s hydro and geothermal supply systems.

For those “eco-minded” students who have ever seen something and thought “I could do it better”, this is their chance. The Bayer-UNEP Eco-Minds is open to all university students aged 18-24 years with delegates from Singapore, Thailand, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Philippines, India, Indonesia and China attending.

For entry details and application forms, students can log on to www.eco-minds.bayer.com, or contact the Australian Eco-Minds Co-ordinator on

(02) 4736 0892. Entries close on 28 March 2009.

(image by ian.plumb)

West Australian Education and Training Minister Mark McGowan announced an $11 million pilot program to support science and maths teachers.

The program involves former teachers and university lecturers being brought in to mentor new teachers and provide guidance. The program aids to reduce the drop-out rate of teachers to avoid shortages. 

“With new graduates straight out of university, they are very well educated and know a lot about their field but they often need a little bit of help in managing students and working out what is the best techniques are for educating students,” Mr McGowan said.

The program will be available to all first-year teachers in physics, chemistry and mathematics.

The full story from the WA News is here.

The 2008 National Science Week grants have been announced and Scinema, a science film and multimedia festival has been a recipient. 

This grant means that scientific films, dramas, documentaries and short films will be shown at over 150 locations during National Science Week from August 16 to 24. Last time the festival was screened to over 10,000 people around the country.

Scinema (pronounced with a long ‘i’ ) will play in venues in New Zealand and the UK and is a partnership between CSIRO, Cosmos Magazine and the National Museum of Australia. 

Sounds like a top initiative and a great event. Learn more at www.csiro.au/scinema.

Do you want to be one who contributes to making the world a better place to live in? A US brains trust has come up with the top 14 challenges that you need to start working on.

This is the list, networkworld has the rest of the info.

• Make solar energy affordable

• Provide energy from fusion

• Develop carbon sequestration methods

• Manage the nitrogen cycle

• Provide access to clean water

• Restore and improve urban infrastructure

• Advance health informatics

• Engineer better medicines

• Reverse-engineer the brain

• Prevent nuclear terror

• Secure cyberspace

• Enhance virtual reality

• Advance personalised learning

• Engineer the tools for scientific discovery

Year 12 students who are considering a career in science, engineering and technology are getting a taste at the National Youth Science Forum (NYSF).

The NYSF is a two week program held at the Australian National Uni in Canberra where approximately 140 students get the opportunity to visit leading research institutions, meet scientists and engineers and gain a greater understanding on what options are available to them. 

The program covers pure research, applied research and engineering in both physical and biological sciences in equal doses. The focus for human biology is on biomedical research and biotech, so students come away with a broad appreciation of the profession.

After the intensive fortnight in January, students participate in uni seminars and industry site visits in March and April and remain in contact with the network of professionals and other students met throughout the program. 

These summer programs are a great chance to see firsthand the opportunities available. This forum looks similar to the Honeywell Engineering Summer School another great initiative. Good luck to everyone, coordinators and students – I’m sure everyone involved can look forward to a great couple of weeks of science ahead.

For more information about the program and for information about applying for next year (‘The people that go the NYSF aren’t your stereotypical science geek at all! – NYSF site) visit the official website. Fore more, read a detailed Wikipedia article and an article about one of the participants, Sophie Dawson (pictured), on the AdelaideNow website.

Dr Karl Kruszelnicki and Adam Spencer, Australia’s (and our) favourite geeks are on ABC in the new year.

Their show ‘Sleek Geeks’ will air on Thursdays at 8pm from Jan 3 to Feb 7 in 2008. They will be joined with Yumi Stynes, Ruben Meerman and Dr Stephen Bosi to answer some fascinating scientific questions that pop up in everyday life.

The episode guide looks good, with topics that include ‘how Da Vinci was really a dirty old man’, Adam getting hypnotised and the story of Mike the headless chicken.

Visit Sleek Geek HQ @ the ABC website here.

Scotch College (Adelaide) teacher Fiona McAuliffe has become a murder victim in a maths based crime-solving problem; one that required her Year 10 students to solve equations to solve the case.

Similar to the drama series Numbers, the class was required to use statistics, simultaneous equations, probability, linear graphs and ratios. The result - CSI: Scotch (yes the movie exists and yes, you can download it). 

For her innovative teaching methods Fiona picked herself up and award from the Association of Independent Schools, South Australia at their annual awards. An Oscar on the way, perhaps?

Of her processes Fiona said, ‘You’ve got to use the things that get them excited’. 

‘Kids who are motivated mathematically will be (interested) anyway. The kids who are not are the ones that read the novels, watch the movies.’

AdelaideNow has an article and the link to the movie.