Judging of the Aurecon Bridge Building Competition for school students begins today in Adelaide.
The competition helps around 1000 Year 8 and Year 9 high school students bring their ideas to life by encouraging them to develop their understanding of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) by building a bridge using icy pole sticks, string, glue and cardboard.
Aurecon Managing Director William Cox said the company believes that by enabling students to get hands on and learn the basic principles of engineering, they are helping to proactively develop Australia’s next generation of engineers.
“Engineering is a great career choice for the youth of today offering a strong likelihood of employment in a diverse range of fields,” Cox said.
“Australian Government’s National Innovation and Science Agenda website, for example, estimates that within the next decade approximately 75 per cent of jobs in the fastest-growing industries will demand science, technology, engineering and mathematics.”
He said STEM subjects are the building blocks for the inquisitive, adventurous and inventive to make engineering and technology work, but are also considered to be an important building block for the future of the Australian economy.
According to Australia’s Chief Scientist, advances in the physical, mathematical and biological sciences in the past 20 to 30 years have underpinned $330 billion a year of Australia’s economic output. STEM employees have also been found to be some of the most innovative workers, and their skills in active learning and critical thinking are highly valued. However, employers have reported difficulty in recruiting STEM qualified staff.
Today's event at the Art Gallery of SA involves entries from 13 schools. The next round of judging will be next Wednesday, August 3 in Brisbane and Perth. This will be followed by Mackay, Gladstone, Sydney and Melbourne before the final judging event in Darwin on Friday, August 26.
Bridge and structural engineering experts from Aurecon and competition supporters have been appointed as judges to assess each bridge for workmanship, creativity, visual appeal and functionality to determine an overall score.
New prizes for award categories have been added to the competition in 2016 for an all-round, innovation, efficiency and strength awards. Winners in each region are announced on the day after the testing of all bridges has been completed and scores tallied.
The competition not only provides students with a bridge engineering challenge to solve, but also provides feedback for the students from expert judges. The battle for the cash prizes will be played out in front of all local participating schools at each judging location, with the spectacle of seeing the bridges load-tested to destruction.
[A bridge being tested in last year's competition. Photo: Aurecon]
'Developing our next generation of engineers' will be a topic of discussion at the Australian Engineering Conference 2016 in Brisbane on November 23-25.