The University of Newcastle is now playing host to the state finals of the Science and Engineering Super Challenge.
The top 26 schools from across New South Wales are competing for a place in the national final later this year in Dubbo.
A University of Newcastle initiative, the Science and Engineering Challenge brings hands-on experiences involving science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) to year nine and ten students across the nation with 18,000 students participating each year.
Director of the Science and Engineering Challenge Dr Terry Burns says STEM skills will be a requirement for employment in the future.
"In the future...there is strong agreement among experts that 75 per cent of all the jobs will involve STEM and that the skills required in all the jobs of the future will be the sorts of skills that people who work in the STEM area have," Dr Burns said.
"There's going to be a massive change in the way that people work and the sort of work they do, and STEM provides the tools and skills to do that."
The Science and Engineering Super Challenge state final comes after the announcement of a $100,000 grant for the program from the NSW Chief Scientist and Engineer's Office on Monday.
The grant is being used to run the challenge in Sydney, transport costs for regional schools, and a series of science shows for younger children across the region.
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| Image source: University of Newcastle |
The Science and Engineering Super Challenge state final will continue until Thursday the 17th of August.
