Students Begin BrainSTEM Innovation Program

Our Year 7 and 8 High Ability students have begun this year's BrainSTEM High Ability Mentoring Program, with launch sessions held at the Cobblebank campus on 14 July and Melton on 22 July.

This year, 21 students from Cobblebank and 24 from Melton are participating, with the Melton campus joining the program for a second consecutive year.

The opening workshop introduced students to the Design Thinking process through a series of hands-on Lego challenges that encouraged creativity, collaboration and problem-solving. Although the concept was unfamiliar to many, students quickly embraced the challenge, testing ideas, refining their thinking and working together to develop practical solutions.

Students were also introduced to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), exploring how global issues such as poverty, inequality, conflict and access to education affect communities around the world.

What became clear during these discussions was that many students were already thinking deeply about these issues and were eager to explore how innovative ideas can contribute to positive change.

Over the next six weeks, students will work alongside industry mentors to investigate real challenges within their communities before designing and presenting their own solutions.

Along the way, they will further develop their skills in critical thinking, collaboration, communication and innovation while gaining valuable experience in presenting their ideas to others.

The first workshops set an enthusiastic tone for the program, with students across both campuses demonstrating curiosity, initiative and a genuine willingness to challenge their own thinking.

We look forward to following their progress as their ideas continue to evolve over the coming weeks.