Girls in STEM

This year, eight Year 11 students participated in the online 2021 Girls in STEM Mentoring Program with the Bionics Institute. Students Mia and Ava write about their experience.

Over a period of six months, we worked together in pairs to gain firsthand experience into what a career for women in the science research field looks like.

Each pair was assigned a female research scientist mentor who continuously educated and supported us throughout the program. These interactions were invaluable and we were able to broaden our knowledge on such complex and relevant topics that we would not typically have the chance to learn about.

The program involved dedicated scientific research into a variety of topics. Specifically: “how we test novel treatments for hearing loss in the lab”, “detecting neural dead regions in cochlear implant users”, “measuring brain activity to develop an objective test for tinnitus” and “applications for Vagus Nerve Stimulation Therapy”.

The eight of us were lucky enough to be able to visit the Bionics Institute in person, in between lockdowns and experience what it is like working in a research science environment. Specifically, our group was able to see the works of a real cochlear implant as well as a "silent room" used for testing and detecting neural dead regions.

Throughout the program, we met regularly with our mentors on Zoom and they assigned small research tasks each time to build up our knowledge of the project and its purpose. In addition to the research, our mentors shared their experiences in research, from the courses and pathways they took at university, to how research is funded, and the grant writing process.

The experience concluded with each student pair presenting a 10 minute seminar on their research in the form of a webinar presentation to over 60 attendees, including our mentors, Robert Klupacs (CEO of the Bionics Institute), members of the Bionics Institute, Dr Priest, Mrs McClure, teachers and parents.

These presentations demonstrated how our confidence and skills in communication were improved throughout the program.

We would like to thank the Bionics Institute for offering this invaluable partnership and opportunity to us, as well as Dr Fiona Alderson (Senior School Science Teacher) and Dr Priest.

Also a special thank you to the female mentors who have shared their time and expertise while inspiring us to help achieve gender equity by pursuing our passion in STEM. We will forever cherish this experience and would highly encourage any student interested in a career in STEM to take up this amazing opportunity in the future.

Mia and Ava Year 11