Click here for workshop photos and videos

Year 9 students have discovered that new technologies are having far greater impacts than just developing the latest mobile phones and online games.

The students, from St Patrick’s College and the Whitsunday Anglican School, attended a ‘Beakers. Bots. Build’ workshop today, delivered by the Queensland Minerals and Energy Academy (QMEA) and Thiess, the workshop sponsor.

During the full-day workshop, students worked on projects where technology is having its greatest impacts in the resources sector, including robotic programming, engineering design and exploration.

Andrew Wheaton, Whitsunday Anglican School Principal, said the workshop provided a great incentive for the Year 9 students to pursue studies in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) subjects.

“The QMEA workshop demonstrated how these studies directly relate to industry innovations in the resources sector, including programming autonomous vehicles and data analysis for geological exploration,” Mr Wheaton said.

“It also encouraged students to think critically and creatively – essential skills for navigating and shaping a future we can’t yet predict.”

Katrina-Lee Jones, Policy Director – Skills, Education and Diversity, for the Queensland Resources Council (QRC) said the students were highly engaged in the workshop.

“Our aim is to give the Australian science and technology curriculum some real-world context, showing students the positive impact STEM innovations are having on the resources industry,” said Ms Jones.

“New technologies are being used to enhance productivity, safety and sustainability in the industry and with that comes plenty of future career opportunities for students,” she said.

“Changes in technology means there will be an increasing demand for roles such as mechatronics, automation and data engineers, alongside various technicians so we want to encourage students to study STEM and be a part of the exciting new wave of innovation in our industry.”