Illuminate STEM Agribusiness Challenge Inspires Cobblebank Students

During May, Year 9 STEM students at the Cobblebank Campus participated in an exciting and immersive workshop led by Illuminate Education Australia.

This nationally recognised organisation empowers young people to tackle real-world challenges through innovation and entrepreneurial thinking.

The hands-on workshop focused on Agribusiness - a vital and often overlooked industry crucial to Australia's future.

Students worked in teams to design sustainable agricultural solutions for the rapidly growing City of Melton, using local land to inspire their business ventures.

With guidance from industry mentors and the support of Illuminate’s innovation framework, students moved through stages of ideation, prototyping, and pitching their final solutions.

For many students, this experience was transformative.

Pall reflected, “At first, I was a little hesitant, as it looked a bit overwhelming, but as the mentors helped me to come up with more ideas and helped me to overcome my fears, I slowly found this elective exciting and enjoyable.”

Ekam, Connar and Zeba (Team 5) shared, “We accomplished many feats, such as figuring out how much our community garden project (Communi-Tree) would cost to launch. We made a prototype and presented our pitch deck slides to students and staff.”

From personal growth to real-world experience, the workshop helped students build resilience, leadership, and confidence.

Subha from Team 4 noted, “This elective enables you to learn perseverance and responsibility, as well as real-life skills like managing a business, taking on finances and presenting ideas in front of real people.”

Year 9 Student Erin added, “Before participating in this program, I was less confident in working and communicating with my peers effectively. This elective has helped me learn how to navigate working in a team.”

Nimar summed up the experience: “STEM has been a great experience for me, and I hope to be able to do it again next year.”

We thank Illuminate Education, particularly our inspiring mentors Kathryn and Adam, for their guidance and expertise throughout the workshop.

Programs like this truly illuminate our students' path to becoming capable, confident, and creative thinkers ready to shape the future.