AITC STUDENT CHAMPION

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AITC Student

Championengage and empower!

Recently Mitch from the AITC x Protech Academy was chosen to be part of the Cross River Rail Student Champions Program. The program has been designed to engage and empower young people from across the local community to have their say in the design and delivery of the Cross River Rail.

Mitch is one of 10-15 Student Champions from Years 9-10, from schools across South-East Queensland, with an interest in innovation and community development.

Student Champions will be responsible for representing the thoughts and opinions of young people as they work to develop innovative solutions for elements of the Cross River Rail project. Commencing in September 2022, and running over the course of six months, young people will meet for two days in each school holiday period, as well as virtually for two sessions during the school term.

The program will finish with a final showcase breakfast, during which teams will propose final solutions to the challenges presented to them to a team of Cross River Rail leaders, teachers, and families. Cross River Rail is a new 10.2-kilometre rail line from Dutton Park to Bowen Hills, which includes 5.9 kilometres of twin tunnels under the Brisbane River and the CBD. South-East Queensland’s population is rising, putting our transport network under pressure. The current rail network is already nearing capacity and is constrained by a single river crossing and just four inner-city stations, causing the bottleneck that limits our ability to run more trains.

Mitch says, “Cross River Rail was an interesting experience as we dove deeper into the project. Industry management came in and talked with us about how they manage and fund the massive project.”

The strength and structural design of the tunnel is integral to safety. “We learned that this is the first underground project integrated with public transport. It lets more trains pass under the water and every layer is important in keeping the tunnel safe.”

It was great getting to know the other Student Champions during the first week. “People started to get to know each other and speak with confidence. Everyone has unique ideas about this project, how to fix potential problems, and find solutions. We have different teams — Leader, Hipster, and Nerd (with different team roles such as Hipster, Hacker, Hustler, Humanist) these will be the teams we will be working with for the breakfast presentation.”