Image: Jozef Beska, Footscray City College with his project, Footscray Flight Controls Trainer, courtesy of Taryn Ellis, Museum Victoria.
The VCE Season of Excellence is celebrating Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education at the Top Designs exhibition. The exhibition showcases selected projects from the Systems Engineering and Product Design and Technology subjects.
Among the works on display are school-assessed Unit 3 and 4 VCE Systems Engineering subject tasks, including a custom cargo plane, a flight controls trainer, an autonomous drone and a custom 6x6 remote control truck and hydraulic trailer. These projects involved students designing, constructing and assembling an operational integrated system with a control device.
Engineers Australia Victoria President Chris Stoltz is delighted to see the work of our young designers and future engineers showcased at such a prestigious exhibition.
“I encourage all members to attend, as it is a great opportunity to see the cutting-edge technology of the next generation and support interactive and practical STEM education,” Mr Stoltz said.
“Systems Engineering is a twenty-first century skill and Engineers Australia is a strong advocate of the subject at a VCE level.”
Integrating knowledge with practice, students learn about systems from a concrete, practical and purposeful perspective, including the essential element of design.
“Over the past few years, Engineers Australia has worked with the Victorian Department of Education and Training on a strategic review of the VCE Systems Engineering curriculum, and Victorian universities to recognise the value of this subject by providing bonus points for VTAC entry for engineering and technology courses,” Mr Stoltz said.
“We also support the Design and Technology Teachers’ Association Victoria (DATTA Vic), whose members deliver the subject to high schools and will host Design and Technology Week 2016.”
Educators like Peter Murphy, President of DATTA Vic, describes the exhibition as “hugely significant to students, teachers and schools in Victoria, and critical in showing the high regard these creative subjects are held by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority and the broader community.”
“Being part of the exhibition can give a major boost to a young student who wants to become a designer or engineer,” Mr Murphy said. “Most can expect to be accepted in the university course of their choosing.”
“Successful teaching of these subjects develops students as creative problem solvers, a key skill required in STEM related careers,” he said.
Top Designs
Presented by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) and Melbourne Museum
Exhibition open until Sunday 10 July 2016.
More information on Top Designs