What’s happening?
CSIRO’s STEM Professionals in Schools program brought real-world STEM learning to St Benedict’s Catholic School. Cyber security architect Narayana Madineni partnered with teacher Sara Pemberton to deliver six back-to-back sessions for Year 5 and 6 students. The sessions covered careers in technology, cyber security, and artificial intelligence, and kept more than 100 students engaged.
Why it matters?
The aim was to help students see how STEM links to everyday life and future work. The program also responds to schools across Australia seeing less interest from students to take up STEM subjects or build STEM skills.
Local Impact
St Benedict’s students were able to hear directly from an industry expert and learn how tech skills can shape future jobs. Sara and Narayana also discussed how to keep STEM classes engaging and how students could join programs like the Queensland Premier’s Coding Challenge.
By the Numbers
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More than 100 Year 5 and 6 students took part in the six sessions and joined lively discussions on robots, AI, and career paths.
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The STEM Professionals in Schools program supports multiple partnerships across Australia, connecting experts with teachers.
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One school day covered careers in tech, cyber safety, and AI, giving students a broad look at modern STEM fields.
Zoom In
Narayana spoke about the energy of the classes and the value of seeing so much interest in tech.
He said the students’ enthusiasm was inspiring, adding that “meeting future technologists, developers, engineers, and even aspiring army tank diesel refillers made my day.”
He also praised the work teachers put in each day, saying he appreciated the dedication of those who deliver many classes back-to-back.
Zoom Out
The CSIRO program links STEM professionals with educators to help students understand the relevance of science and technology in daily life. It also supports teachers by giving them access to current industry knowledge and potential project ideas.
What to look for next?
CSIRO is inviting more Townsville schools and educators to join the free national program at a time when interest in STEM subjects continues to fall.
