Students race to the finish line at the ‘STEM Speedway’

By Maddie Rawlings

TECHNOLOGY AND ENGINEERING Eastern Goldfields College and The Heights School, the first ever joint victors, with Professor Simon Leonard (left) and Department of Education Program and Policy Officer Simon Blacket (right).

It may not be the race that stops the nation, but hundreds of high school students from across Australia have taken part in a UniSA-led competition using motorsport to test their STEM skills.

UniSA’s 2024 STEM Innovation Experience (STEMIE) competition roared into action during November with 54 students from a starting grid of more than 450 Australia-wide vying for pole position.

STEMIE is a UniSA-driven initiative that encourages students to get involved and be excited about STEM. Open for students in years 9-11, STEMIE comprises three major components: a learning phase; a regional showcase; and the national STEMIE final where students compete in a series of unseen challenges only revealed on the day.

The UniSA racing simulator.

Always conducted using a theme, 2024 saw STEMIE immersed in motorsport. A racing simulator gave students a chance to experience an adrenaline-fuelled stint behind the wheel of an Australian Supercar (around Adelaide’s famous East Parklands street circuit), with a pitstop challenge letting them try their hand at the action, just like the pros.

Suitably, the competition showcased the students’ STEM skills across multiple challenges within the motorsport industry, from coding starting light sequences, to measuring biometrics, and extinguishing chemical ‘fires’.

After months of testing their STEM skills in a series of complex challenges, it came down to the line, with both Eastern Goldfields College (WA) and The Heights School (SA) taking victory.

It’s the first time in the competition’s nine-year history that two school teams have jointly won equal first place.

Students from Kingsford Smith School (ACT) with the UniSA Motorsport Club car.

Motorsport Australia director for SA/NT Kristen Bailey says the competition can show students the wide world of opportunities that STEM knowledge opens up, especially in the world of motorsport.

“Motorsport is not just about driving. Whether you’re looking at being in a medical role, an engineering role, or a mechanic role, there are so many different opportunities,” she says.

“To be able to get kids involved in any type of STEM to understand what opportunities are available, is always a great place to start.”

UniSA Outreach Officer and STEMIE organiser Anita Trenwith says the program encourages students to explore the creative, real-world applications of STEM skills at a time when Australia is facing a critical shortage of skilled STEM workers and declining STEM engagement in secondary schooling.

“It’s really important to keep kids engaged in STEM, and this experience provides a fun and unique opportunity for students to see firsthand where STEM can take them,” she says.

“This year’s competition was fantastic – we had nine teams there on the day and everyone was determined to win, so it was awesome seeing the creative problem-solving as they worked through the challenges.”

UniSA Professor of the Learning Sciences Simon Leonard says that the STEMIE competition demonstrates some of the best practices in STEM education towards empowering students in their studies.

“Having a sense of self-efficacy helps kids pursuing STEM to stay engaged. It’s a really powerful step in building the confidence and then the competence to do well into later high school and then university and careers,” he says.

Students from wildcard entry Mitcham Girls High School say teamwork and technical experience were some of the most valuable skills they learned, encouraging other students to get involved in the future.

“The best part was working together with my friends to complete the different tasks,” one student says.

“If you have a positive attitude and look at all the challenges creatively, you’ll figure it out and enjoy the experience.”

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