2020 Dates

• 06 May
• 08 July
• 09 September
• 04 November

Interested in a career that will have a positive impact on society? Then join us for our Girls in Engineering and Technology Program - GET Set.

GET Set is designed for female students in years 11 and 12. With engaging hands-on activities, GET Set is the perfect opportunity to explore a career path which is both exciting and in demand!

Dates: 25 June 2020

Areas of interest: Engineering, robotics, biology, science, physics, problem solving, teamwork, leadership

Location: On campus

Year level: 11-12

Number of students: Maximum of 80

Time: 8.30am-3.30pm

Format: Interactive activities and presentations

Registration: Click here to register

Cost: No cost

Dates: 18 August 2020

Areas of interest: Engineering, robotics, biology, science, arts, physics, problem solving, teamwork, leadership

Location: On campus

Year level: 11-12

Number of students: Maximum of 80

Time: 9am-3.30pm

Format: Interactive activities and presentations

Registration: Click here to register

Cost: No cost

In this workshop students will be introduced to the concept of tissue engineering, in which biomaterials are engineered to mimic healthy body tissues and support regeneration. We will look at the problem of brain repair with a systems engineering approach to demonstrate both how complex such a problem can be, and how we can methodically find new solutions. Split into teams, each focusing on a different aspect of biomaterial design (chemical, biological, physical properties, etc.) students will learn about the requirements within their focus area for a successful biomaterial. All teams will have the same information on a variety of different biomaterial options, and must select the material that best meets the requirements of their focus area. In scrambled groups, the students will then have to compromise or brainstorm an innovative solution to satisfy all the requirements, which systems engineering demands. Current research at the ANU in biomaterial tissue engineering will be presented to the students, highlighting innovative strategies used to solve such a complex problem as brain repair.

Areas of interest: Engineering, systems engineering, biomedical engineering

Location: On-campus

Year level: 11-12

Number of students: 25

Time: 60-90 minutes

Availability: Any time on request excluding May to Mid June

Format: Interactive presentation and workshop

Cost: No cost

Floating Houses covers the nature of engineering (responding to the needs of a society), with a particular focus on civil engineering. Students will learn about the importance of understanding context when implementing an engineering solution, particularly in humanitarian engineering. They will also gain an appreciation of the complex process of material selection, balancing cost, use and longevity through the activity.

The workshop is based on Engineers Without Borders work in Tonlé Sap, where the annual floods present a major challenge in the design of dwellings. Students are presented with this information and must meet the outlined requirements for longevity and number of people their dwelling can adequately house.

After discussing the challenge and formulating a solution, the students are given a time limit in which to construct the most suitable structure. Their solutions are then tested and compared. The workshop tests their comprehension of physics and balance, as well as their ability to assess the economics of their project by maintaining a tally of the cost of the materials and their use.

Areas of interest: Engineering, civil engineering, materials, humanitarian engineering

Location: On-campus and in school

Year level: K-12

Number of students: 25

Time: 60-90 minutes

Availability: Any time during teaching periods

Format: Interactive presentation and hands on workshop

Cost: No cost

In this workshop students will discuss their ideas of engineering and engineers – what do they do and what skills do they need? Historical examples are used to highlight the breadth and creativity of technology and engineering, which leads into a discussion of contemporary and cutting-edge engineering research and development.

Students will be split into teams and complete a design and build activity to investigate how engineering is undertaken. Pathways to engineering and a snapshot of the profession are then provided.

Areas of interest: Engineering, humanitarian engineering, foreign aid, developing communities

Location: On-campus and in school

Year level: 7-12

Number of students: 25

Time: 60-90 minutes

Availability: Any time during teaching periods

Format: Interactive presentation and hands on workshop

Cost: No cost

The Prosthetic Leg workshop introduces the needs of those who have lost a limb, particularly in developing communities, and the role of the biomedical engineer in meeting these needs. Students will gain an understanding of the difficulty in obtaining appropriate medical care in developing communities and how organisations like EWB are working to change this. After learning about the structure of the lower leg and the consequences of losing the limb, students are presented with the task to build their own prosthetic leg from the knee down. They will need to take into account the information they have been presented with, as well as the materials available to them. Students are encouraged to use the resources sparingly, imitating their availability in developing communities and highlighting the importance of sustainability. Teams will then demonstrate their design to the rest of the class, as well as explaining why they chose the final design. The workshop ends with a reflection on the design process.

Areas of interest: Engineering, biomedical engineering, biology, medicine

Location: On-campus and in school

Year level: 5-12

Number of students: 25

Time: 60-90 minutes

Availability: Any time during teaching periods

Format: Interactive presentation and hands on workshop

Cost: No cost

Water For Life introduces the concept of global water accessibility and how people across the globe have different levels of access to clean water for consumption and sanitation. Students are then asked to construct a water filter using materials accessible and affordable to developing communities.

The presentation covers what engineers are, the definitions of science and technology and the role these play in meeting the needs of both developing and developed communities. There is a focus on the “three A’s” of obtaining materials: accessibility, availability and affordability.

The main component of the workshop is the activity in which students construct their own water filter. Each group is given a country profile with instructions and a budget for the filter. Different groups will face different obstacles depending on the literacy rate and income of their country, which will influence their final design.

Areas of interest: Engineering, humanitarian engineering, foreign aid, developing communities

Location: On-campus and in school

Year level: 5-12

Number of students: 25

Time: 60-90 minutes

Availability: Any time during teaching periods

Format: Interactive presentation and hands on workshop

Cost: No cost

This workshop is run by the ANU chapter of Robogals – a student-run organisation that aims to increase student participation in engineering, science and technology through fun and educational initiatives.

Students in the workshop will be introduced to Lego Mindstorms robots and their components before commencing a programming tutorial. The tutorial will touch on programming and problem solving. Students will work in groups of two or three to program their robot to successfully complete given challenges such as obstacle courses. Engineering and computing disciplines are also discussed as Robogals volunteers present various projects from their study at ANU.

Areas of interest: Robotics, coding, engineering, computing

Location: On campus and in school

Year level: 5-12

Number of students: 20 per workshop (multiple workshops run simultaneously can be organised)

Time: 90-180 minutes

Availability: Any time during teaching periods

Format: Interactive presentation and hands on workshop

Cost: No cost

Systems engineering is a useful way to break a complex problem down into manageable pieces. Testing is an important approach to gather evidence to make good decisions. In this activity, your group will design and implement engineering tests on a robot waiter for your restaurant-owner clients. You will test the wheel and controller subsystems separately against a series of requirements, and then test your final design on an obstacle course.

Areas of interest: Robotics, engineering, systems engineering, problem solving, teamwork

Location: On campus and in school

Year level: 11-12

Number of students: Maximum of 25 per workshop

Time: 90-180 minutes

Availability: Any time during teaching periods

Format: Interactive presentation and hands on workshop

Cost: No cost

This workshop will be held by Professor Jochen Renz and his team who are organising the international Angry Birds Artificial Intelligence Competition (aibirds.org). In this workshop students will learn how to build an artificially intelligent agent that can play the popular game Angry Birds by itself. By integrating their own game strategies, students can further improve their Angry Birds agent.  

Students will gain experience using Snap!, a simple visual programming language that is very easy to learn and to use. 

This workshop will also look into the fun side of Artificial Intelligence and how it can successfully interact with the real world while students gain hands-on coding experience. At the end of the workshop, we organise a competition where we determine the best Angry Birds agent.

Areas of interest: Computing, computer science, programming, artificial intelligence, coding

Location: On-campus

Year level: 9-12

Number of students: 36 on campus, in-school numbers dependent upon computer access

Time: 180-240 minutes

Availability: Any time on request

Format: Interactive presentation

Cost: No cost

This workshop is run by the ANU chapter of Robogals – a student-run organisation that aims to increase student participation in engineering, science and technology through fun and educational initiatives.

Students in the workshop will be introduced to Lego Mindstorms robots and their components before commencing a programming tutorial. The tutorial will touch on programming and problem solving. Students will work in groups of two or three to program their robot to successfully complete given challenges such as obstacle courses. Engineering and computing disciplines are also discussed as Robogals volunteers present various projects from their study at ANU.

Areas of interest: Robotics, coding, engineering, computing

Location: On campus and in school

Year level: 7-12

Number of students: 20 per workshop (multiple workshops run simultaneously can be organised)

Time: 90-180 minutes

Availability: Any time during teaching periods

Format: Interactive presentation and hands on workshop

Cost: No cost