National Youth Science Forum

Over the summer holidays, I was able to partake in an annual National Youth Science Forum program which involved bringing the experience and expertise of many world-renowned scientists, engineers and experts in their fields straight to the youth of Australia. It is a unique opportunity that not everyone can get into, but it is quite worthwhile for all those involved. It also afforded various opportunities to build social networks with like-minded people and alumni from the previous years’ programs, which now stretches over 14,000 people wide.

During my time with the program, we were given numerous opportunities and fields to experience, even in fields that schools rarely delve into. From BioChemistry and experiments to the high end of quantum computer theory, there was an experience for every individual there that they were able to enjoy. I attended numerous engineering and computer science seminars, from world-renowned specialists. This allowed me to gauge which field I wanted to go into and found that I wanted to go into Software Engineering, which strayed from my original plans.

As well as the academic opportunities the program offered a large number of professional development opportunities, I was able to talk one-on-one with the hiring manager of Lockheed Martin about the hiring process and possibilities that the company offers. As well as established corporate connections we had seminars on entrepreneurship and STEM in business. These allowed me to connect with people in similar positions to what I hope to attain in the next decade.

All of these programs were just the start of the NYSF experience, as we are now connected to a large network, which holds events and offers opportunities only afforded to the NYSF alumni. We have further meetups scheduled for the end of this year to stay in Melbourne for a week and experience city life before moving down.

I would like to thank the sponsors of my application being the local rotary clubs as well as the head of the Science faculty Ms Beattie and the Neighbourhood 3 Principal Ms Utber, for informing me about this opportunity and supporting me through the application process.  

To anyone considering picking up the application process, I would strongly recommend it, the experiences and bonds that you will get are priceless. You will regret not applying. Even if you aren’t a science-oriented student, the experience is easy to follow and will likely inspire curiosity in fields you never imagined having any interest in.

“We regret the things we don’t do more than the things we do” – Mark Twain

Rowan Farren

Year 12