Vivid Sydney shared with students from regional Australia

Mount Burr in South Australia is a long way from the bright lights of Vivid in Sydney but students from the rural community will get the opportunity to visit the emerald city and see the world-famous festival, evening up the disparity in experiences between city and regional students.

Samsung Electronics Australia, partnered with Social Ventures Australia (SVA) to make it possible, this will be the first time on an airplane for the majority of the 24 students from Mount Burr Primary School, Nangwarry Primary School and Glencoe Central Primary School.

The schools are among 15 other schools included in the STEM Learning Hub, an initiative co-created by Samsung and SVA in 2017 which endeavors to bridge Australia’s STEM skill gap by providing students and teachers from low-socioeconomic communities access to Samsung technology and resources that they would otherwise not have had access to.

By the age of 15 students from low SES backgrounds can be up to five times more likely to be low performers than a student in a higher socio-economic area. These children are also less likely to develop their talent in STEM subjects where as many as 75 per cent of the fastest growing jobs will require these skills and knowledge.

Josh Grace, Chief Marketing Officer, Samsung, said: “Breaking barriers and enabling new experiences through technology is at the heart of the Samsung brand."

The South Australian school was selected by Samsung and SVA for the Vivid experience after demonstrating excellence in their STEM studies. To help the students prepare for Vivid they participated in a photography tour around Circular Quay with well-known photographer, Rob Mullaly. During the tour the students learnt how to take pictures on the Samsung Galaxy A-series smartphone so that they could capture Vivid Sydney in all its glory.

Anne-Marie Fitzgerald, Principal, Mount Burr Primary School said, “Whilst we very much value the benefits of our small school and community we also understand the importance of providing our students with learning opportunities beyond our local area to broaden their experiences.”

Suzanne Cridge, Director, Education, Bright Spots Schools Connection, SVA said, “We want to see all children in Australia, no matter where they grow up, have access to great technology to support their learning.”

The STEM Learning Hub is part of a wider network of 42 schools which are included in SVA’s Bright Spots School Connection. Since the commencement of the Hub, more than 790 teachers and 8,000 students have participated in the program.

All of the schools involved in the STEM Learning Hub have access to professional development, STEM-specific training and Samsung technology.