STEAM Education

Introducing a new generation to STEM in the real world 

Article written by Telstra

On Friday 15 November, our 2019 Graduates hosted a tour of our CIC and the Telstra Labs for Year 4 students from St. James Primary School in Brighton, Victoria. The graduates gave the students a memorable introduction to our technology and how we use STEM skills in our industry.

Our graduates gave a presentation on Telstra’s technology portfolio and the many ways in which our people use a range of STEM skills in their roles, covering drones, IoT, 5G, robotics, AR/VR and 3D printing, answering a multitude of questions - including some tricky ones - with ease. The kids were totally spellbound and genuinely awestruck. 

The session will undoubtedly leave a lasting impression of Telstra with these youngsters, and perhaps inspire them to take an interest in developing the type of skills needed in our industry.

This school is one of 16 partnerships supported by our staff taking part in the CSIRO "STEM Professionals in Schools" program, which allows us to meet with young STEM students and show them how the skills they’re learning translate into future roles within Australia’s high-tech industries, particularly using our expertise in agri-science, IoT and data science.

These partnerships create a direct relationship between school teachers and our industry professionals, bringing real-world applications of STEM skills into classrooms and into students’ lives. It’s our hope that we can help encourage and engage students learning STEM skills to further develop those skills and potentially enter a STEM career in the future – maybe even one with us!

We’re also working with St. James Primary to establish a smart farm using our Track and Monitor wireless sensor technology, showing the children a practical application for STEM skills and teaching them about sustainability at the same time. 

This tour and partnership with St. James is just one of the ways we are bringing ‘real industry STEM’ into schools around Australia and fuelling the imaginations of the next generation. Our graduates have also been invaluable in working with schools through the program, and their enthusiasm and skill has shone through throughout. We look forward to encouraging more students to develop important STEM skills and prepare them into an exciting future technology career.