A LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR

WELCOME to the second edition of Cosmos magazine published by The Royal Institution of Australia.

As the Chief Executive and Director, I thought it important that I take the time to write to all our readers and explain what The Royal Institution of Australia is – and what our role is in the Australian community.

The Royal Institution of Australia was established in 2009 as the only sister organisation of The Royal Institution of Great Britain, which has a long and prestigious history dating back to 1799.

Our mission is to promote public awareness and understanding of all things science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Through our own productions, and through working with the most trusted scientific sources, we aim to engage the Australian public, bringing science to people and people to science. We have quickly become a premier destination for trusted and credible science-based content.

In conjunction with this, we also think it is highly important that we restore the value of science, technology, engineering and maths as a career path in the eyes of young Australians. We do this through our Ultimate Careers offerings, and through working with educators around the nation.

Why do we do this? Our vision is that science should be woven into the fabric of society, in much the same way that sport is. We aim for people to understand science and its relevance in day-to-day decision making. We need to empower people to understand the world’s many challenges.

A tall order? Maybe – but we are working hard, engaging the public, educators, families, institutions, mainstream media and decision makers. We will continue to do so.

We are Australia’s only charity solely dedicated to this cause. We are young and we are growing our audience every day. We rely on individual donations and corporate support to achieve this. Our delivery of Cosmos will assist us further in this quest, and I welcome your support in making this possible.