Robots, programming and design engineering will be all in a day’s work for close to 50 students who’ll gather at Pimlico State High School today.

Students from Kirwan and Thuringowa State High Schools will join their Pimlico colleagues in a day-long science challenge, designed to test problem solving, analysis and team work.

It is the first time the Beakers.Bots.Build challenge has been taken directly to these students, and has been made possible by sponsor Adani.

More than 40 students will take part in the event, run by the Queensland Minerals and Energy Academy (QMEA).

They will work in teams to complete three challenges including robotics and programming, extractions and yield assessment as well as design and engineering.

Each challenge has been developed in part by those working in the resources sector and reflect many practices that apply to the industry today.

It is this close link to the world of work that Pimlico SHS, Head of Science, Donagh Galletly values the most.

“All the QMEA activities bring real-world context straight to the students,” said Mr Galletly.

“The industry representatives go out of their way to help guide and advise students about the realities of the sector and the best way to use their talents for a fulfilling career,” Mr Galletly said.

Students are assisted throughout the program by invited industry personnel from Adani who will give first-hand insights into how these challenges are used within site operations and highlight the nature of transferable skills in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields.

Throughout the day students will program a robot to navigate a large-scale solar farm, while also identifying faults.

Students will then complete an extraction activity where they must assess extraction costs compared to potential yield.

The final challenge has students put on project management hats with the task to design, test and build a tower to launch different equipment. The student teams are given a deadline and strict budgets while also working with a brand-new project team.

“Each of the challenges is set to put the year-nine minds in a different working environment to their familiar classrooms and it is this approach that Adani values,” said Lucas Dow, CEO Adani Mining.

“With various operations under the Adani banner, the format of Beakers.Bots.Build also highlights different aspects of the sector. We would encourage the year nines here today to seriously consider STEM pathways as our industry relies on this talent to continue to grow and innovate,” he said.

Beakers.Bots.Build was designed to motivate and inspire young minds to follow a pathway into STEM fields so the minerals and energy sector can continue to benefit from this amazing talent in Queensland.