Greenvale’s Aitken College is exploring ways to broaden the horizons of its star female students.
High achievers in maths and sciences were invited to take part in a project to address how girls view engineering as a future career option.
Science faculty head Adele Hudson signed up 20 female maths and science students to the project in June after being invited by the Hume Whittlesea Local Learning and Employment Network to work with Metro Trains as a workplace offering diverse opportunities for women in engineering.
Dr Hudson said a highlight was a visit by Jennifer Nguyen, a young graduate engineer now working with Metro Trains.
“Jennifer was able to explain the day-to-day tasks of a graduate mechanical engineer,” Dr Hudson said.
Careers counsellor Rae Gibbs said the girls worked in teams designing research projects and action plans. They also surveyed year 8 students about their awareness of engineering and used experiments to illustrate to younger students how engineers set about their tasks.
“Our girls discovered that skills they enjoy, such as problem-solving, creativity, design and communication, are a vital part of the work of engineers but also transferable to a wide range of career options open to them in the future,” Ms Gibbs said.
The project culminated in a visit to the University of Melbourne engineering faculty, where they used computers to manipulate robots, and to the city offices of Metro Trains, where the girls presented their findings to senior staff.
School principal Kim Forward said it was hoped the familiarisation project would be used by other schools to help stimulate interest in and provide a greater understanding of engineering as a rewarding career for women.
