Schools Plus and Google Events to Boost STEM Awareness

Beenleigh isn’t known as a tech hub but that could well change with Google and Schools Plus choosing Beenleigh State High School in outer Brisbane to launch their joint STEM event series.

The partnership is designed to enhance STEM education and opportunities for young people from diverse socioeconomic groups and the launch event will be the first of five held across Australia between 2024-2026, featuring interactive activities and presentations that provide insight into the wide world of STEM.

Schools Plus, a national not-for-profit focused on ensuring that every child has equitable opportunities in their education and Google.org, Google’s philanthropic arm’s event will feature speeches from Schools Plus’ CEO Sherrill Nixon; Marie Efstathiou, Google’s AU/NZ Lead for Computer Science Education and University Relations; and the Hon Bert Van Manen, MP.

Attendees will also gain insight to the fascinating career of Crime Scene Investigator and ‘Superstar of STEM’ ambassador, Priscilla Thwaites where students can speak directly with Priscilla about her experiences and journey in STEM and get amongst interactive activities involving a ground breaking drone delivery service.

After the assembly, students will engage with pilots and other staff from Wing, an Alphabet company that operates a drone delivery service in Beenleigh and other parts of southeast Queensland. The team will highlight career paths in STEM based in the local area with a focus on aviation and drone technology.

Schools Plus’ CEO, Sherrill Nixon, said the partnership with Google.org would be instrumental in democratising STEM opportunities to students from a range of backgrounds, "This event aims to spark curiosity in technology and innovation, inspiring students to pursue their ambitions in these fields."

Marie Efstathiou said she was proud of this new project with Google.org and Schools Plus that will help empower Australian students, “It’s exciting to be supporting the team at Schools Plus for this, the first of many projects that will showcase role models and real world examples from the Australian science and technology industry. I truly believe you can’t be what you can’t see, and so we’re bringing our team to Beenleigh to inspire the students and show them that a career in STEM is theirs if they want it.”

In 2023, Google’s philanthropic arm, Google.org, committed $3 million in funding to Schools Plus to help young people from disadvantaged communities, access the digital learning resources they need to forge successful futures.