STEM Academy to inspire teaching excellence at University of Sydney

A new academy that aims to inspire teaching excellence in mathematics, science and technology skills among Australian high school teachers will enrol its first class this weekend at the University of Sydney.

The first of its kind in Australia, the STEM Teacher Enrichment Academy for science, technology, engineering and mathematics will stimulate the nation’s teachers and develop their confidence by drawing on expertise from three of the university’s faculties: Education and Social Work, Science, and Engineering and Information Technologies.
Made possible by an anonymous donation of $5 million, the STEM Academy will see participating teachers from both metropolitan and regional schools explore cutting-edge discoveries and emerging technologies, and engage with STEM innovations pioneered at the university.
Professor Diane Mayer, Dean of the Faculty of Education and Social Work, said the contribution from three different faculties is exciting.
“The Faculty of Education and Social Work has a longstanding reputation for producing outstanding science and maths teachers and we look forward to sharing that expertise with the wider teaching community,” said Professor Mayer.
Adam Spencer, the university’s ambassador for Science and Maths said, “My lifelong love of mathematics was first nurtured by a great second grade teacher Ms Russell. I was getting frustrated at not being allowed to answer every question and she made one simple suggestion: ‘Adam I bet if you went down to the library now you couldn’t answer fifty questions in the time it takes us to do ten.'”
“Off I charged with a point to prove!
“I can’t wait to meet the teachers who will inspire the next generation of students to pursue the vital calling of science, maths, engineering or technology,” said Spencer.
“The Faculty of Engineering and Information Technologies has been contributing to high school curriculum development and teacher training initiatives across engineering, IT and computer science for a number of years,” says Dean, Archie Johnston.
“It is particularly exciting that we can now build on this experience and inspire a team of cross-faculty academic experts that will deliver a world-class STEM teacher enrichment program.
“Given that seventy-five percent of the fastest-growing occupations require significant STEM skills, it is vital for Australia to improve our participation in and uptake of STEM subjects at school.”
With every gift to the University of Sydney, donors become part of the INSPIRED Campaign, which aims to raise $600 million by 2017.