Kia Ora! SEC expands into New Zealand

The University of Newcastle’s award winning Science and Engineering Challenge (SEC) recently crossed the Tasman Sea to run two outreach event days in New Zealand!

Thanks to a partnership with Google Australia, Terry Burns (Director of SEC) originally met with members of the Puhoro STEM Academy from Massey University at the 2017 SEC National Final in Dubbo. They were very impressed with the program and as a result, the long process of planning an international event began.

It was a logistical operation to ensure that a minimal kit was freighted over, complemented by local resources and consumables. A total of two Challenge Days were run for high school students in Auckland and Palmerston North. These events were led by two team members from the SEC program and delivered bilingually with a co-MC interpreting for students where needed. Members of the Puhoro STEM Academy and local community helped run the activities and activity notes were amended to suit students from the region. The NZ Science and Engineering Challenge was a huge success, with plans to run again in 2019. Read more.

The aim of the SEC to inspire more young people to make a difference in the world by choosing a career in science and engineering. The SEC has grown considerably since the year 2000, originally starting as a STEM information night at UON for local students. Since then, the SEC has been running in every state and territory in Australia, through the support of the Federal Government, Rotary, Engineers Australia, university partners and numerous sponsors. Expansion overseas occurred in 2007 with the first international event being held in Singapore in 2007. To find out more visit the SEC website.