Approaching the final frontier
SPACE is often described as the final frontier and it may well remain that way if nations like Australia can’t produce enough scientists and engineers to take advantage of the lightning jumps the human race is making in the technological sector.
JOHN RYAN talks to Dubbo Leadership Academy principal Mandi Randell about the school’s free upcoming Space Camp these school holidays, and why it’s so important for this current generation of students to turn its eyes towards maths- and science-based subjects.
Tell us about the Space Camp in these school holidays?
We received a grant from the Foundation for Regional and rural Renewal (FRRR) to put on an educational school holiday program to bring kids together and focus on the future. It has been a rough few years with bushfires, drought, then Covid and it has been really hard on kids. We wanted to create an opportunity to focus on innovation and exciting future prospects as a way to help propel kids who have been through tough times towards a brighter future.
Why is learning about space and the science behind it so important for this generation of students?
Science and STEM careers are in great demand and that flexible and innovative thinking is key to all aspects of our lives and economic development. We need big thinkers and big dreamers and understanding and appreciating the majesty of space is a great way to get kids hooked into the wonder of science. Technological innovations, innovations in medicine and telecommunications will all revolve around science and STEM careers and we have some of the brightest future scientists in Dubbo. I want to help them find their way to these amazing, rewarding, enriching careers that are fundamental to Australia’s future.
You grew up and went to school in the USA. Tell us about the 1960s space race and how JFK’S pledge to land a man on the moon sparked a massive resource boom into US schools which built up a generation of scientists and engineers?
Leadership in aerospace inspired a generation to dream big. Commitment on the national level to
achieve the previously unachievable was seared into the national psyche. We all made model rockets, we all wanted to go to space camp. The national cultural drive in valuing science inspired generations of scientific thinking and innovation whose reverberations are still felt today.
What implication did that have for US education on the whole?
STEM is as valued and needed as literacy. High schools in the US require two years of senior science because giving every student the opportunity to discover their aptitudes in the sciences allows the next generation of thinkers, tinkerers and dreamers to emerge who may not have known they have it in them.
What is it about space that can capture a child’s imagination, and potentially steer them on a course into the scientific or engineering world?
Space and dinosaurs, our past and our future, help to situate humanity’s story in the order of wonder and chaos that is the history of time. When we are young, we know no bounds and can see ourselves past the limitations of today. It allows us to harness possibility and the potential of our curiosity.
How critically short are we when it comes to engineers and scientists in this region/state/nation?
STEM careers are identified as
Australia’s major career skills gaps. In Dubbo alone, we will need a massive number of doctors, lab technicians, chemical and mechanical engineers, builders, town planners and the list goes on. Just on the advertised mining projects that are slated for Dubbo alone, there are literally hundreds of chemical and mechanical engineers, botanists, biologists, environmental scientists, (people who are skilled in) environmental law and legislation – the list is truly staggering. The defence forces are actively seeking drone pilots and engineers to innovate those important technologies in flight, communication, programming, cybersecurity and defence. The future is bright for STEM careers. Let’s harness the potential in our local talent and inspire them into their future by starting with the big dreams of space.
Where are these qualified people going to come from?
Right now, companies are thinking they will have to recruit people from urban areas but I think we can grow our own with our local talent. If we give kids the learning experiences that can enrich their potential, we can give them not only rewarding and needed career pathways, but enrich the social, cultural and economic fabric of Dubbo ensuring its prosperity well into the future.
The Academy wants to bring opportunities to children to help them find their way to becoming their personal best. We go out of our way to pair our students with local industry leaders so kids can find their way into amazing careers that require advanced training.
I want them to grow up knowing the community values them and there is a place for their skills here. We do not need to board to have the best educational opportunities. We have the greatest minds in the country here and the Academy will work hard to develop them and inspire the kids of the region to dream big.