STEM

Excellence in STEM!

Lilydale Heights College offers congratulations to Lena H. in Year 11, who participated in the Young Women in Aerospace and Defence Program hosted by RMIT over the break! As part of participating in the program, Lena was awarded second place in a robotics competition!  Lena has generously written about her experience below.

Exploring the Future: My Four Days at RMIT

By Lena H.

Recently, I had the opportunity to attend an immersive four-day program at the RMIT City Campus, called Young Women in Aerospace & Defence Program, diving deep into the worlds of coding, engineering and aerospace.    The program started off with an intensive Introduction to Algorithmic Thinking. We spent the first day mastering Python basics and applying them in a hands-on coding workshop. By day two, we were moving from the screen to the real world, visiting the RMIT VXlab for an immersive experience before starting work on our Arduino rover kits.

Beyond the classroom, we explored the cutting edge of industry. We visited the RMIT Motorsport Hub and simulator, followed by an incredible tour of Textron Australia. Getting a "behind-the-scenes" look at their aerospace workshop was a personal highlight for me. It was fascinating to talk to industry professionals and see exactly what a career in aerospace engineering looks like. As well as the drones they made at Textron.

Then we came to a high-stakes Robotics Competition. We were tasked with coding our rovers to navigate using sensors we had just learned to calibrate. After some intense troubleshooting and fine-tuning, I was thrilled to be placed second place in the competition!

This experience was about more than just hardware and software; it gave me a true taste of university life and the chance to connect with like-minded peers. I walked away with a much stronger grasp of Python and a lot of excitement for a future in STEM.