Students from three Brisbane schools, which have just joined the acclaimed Queensland Minerals and Energy Academy (QMEA) will gather at Coorparoo Secondary College (SC) today for their first QMEA experience.

The Coorparoo SC students will be joined by pupils from Holland Park State High School and Cannon Hill Anglican College for the innovative program.

They’ll take part in a Beakers.Bots.Build challenge which involves carrying out a chemical processing task, programming Lego robots to haul coal and designing the most accurate coin launching device.

“We are very pleased to be welcoming the schools to the QMEA fold,” said Katrina-Lee Jones, Director Skills Education and Diversity with the Queensland Resources Council.

“The generosity of QRC members is making possible the expansion of QMEA into more schools, particularly in the southeast corner,” she said.

“Latest statistics gathered by the Queensland Government show that QMEA is a successful strategy in encouraging students into science technology engineering and maths (STEM) and trade careers.

“Of students who graduated from high school in 2017, 19 percent of QMEA students entered post-school study or employment in engineering and related technologies compared to 11 percent from non-QMEA schools.

“There was an increase in female participation in these pathways from 3 percent to 4 percent (non-QMEA was 2.3 percent) and Indigenous participation was considerably higher at 16 percent compared to 11 percent in non-QMEA schools.

“The percentage of apprentices/trainees employed by industry from QMEA schools has doubled since 2017 to 16 percent, compared to 2.5 percent from non-QMEA schools.

The students will be mentored by staff from QMEA sponsors BHP and Glencore who will be on hand to guide the students through the challenges and give students an insight into careers in the resources sector.

“BMA is very proud to support this outstanding program, and the results speak for themselves,” said James Palmer, Asset President of the BHP Mitsubishi Alliance.

“It’s critical for students to experience the practical application of their classroom studies, while learning about the range of exciting career opportunities that STEM-related subjects can lead to in mining.”