FUTURE YOU: THE NEXT GENERATION
Announcing the winners of our FUTURE YOU pitching competition with NYSF, and a collaboration with Superstars Of STEM for 2023.
Congratulations to Olivia Low from New South Wales and Nadine Lim from Victoria who have been chosen as the winners of THE NEXT GENERATION pitching competition, a FUTURE YOU program.
The NEXT GENERATION was open to teams with at least one team member who participated in the 2021 and 2022 National Youth Science Forum (NYSF) in January this year. From the pitches received, five teams were selected to pitch their ideas directly to Australia’s Women in STEM Ambassador, Professor Lisa Harvey Smith and NYSF’S CEO, Dr Melanie Bagg. Olivia and Nadine were chosen as the competition’s overall winners due to their confidence in pitching their idea, thorough preparation, and onscreen chemistry.
Olivia and Nadine will be involved in an upcoming FUTURE YOU program. They will interview exceptional people in STEM for a short-form series to be released on TikTok in 2023. The program will be developed with the FUTURE YOU team, in collaboration with the National Youth Science Forum and the Superstars of STEM initiative.
Australia’s Women in STEM Ambassador Professor Lisa Harvey Smith looks forward to seeing Olivia and Nadine thrive in their new roles with FUTURE YOU.
“The collaboration between the National Youth Science Forum and the Office of the Women in STEM Ambassador came from our common aim to show young people that there are fantastic career options in STEM to change the world for the better. We challenged NYSF students to come up with a pitch to get younger students (aged 8-12) excited by STEM, with the winner receiving support to develop their idea into a program on our Future You website. I was so impressed with all the presentations, but there could only be one winner. Olivia and Nadine’s professional and energetic pitch wowed the whole team, and I can’t wait to see them interviewing women working in a diverse range of STEM roles as our roving reporters. The resulting video series will be fun, exciting and engage young people who may not currently see themselves represented in STEM, and we are thrilled to be working with both NYSF and the Superstars of STEM on the program.”
Olivia and Nadine are thrilled to be involved in the work involved to encourage more students to pursue STEM-related subjects and careers.
“I’m beyond excited to be a part of FUTURE YOU and to really broaden my horizons about the possibilities of STEM! Through this program, I hope to play a part in shifting the narrative surrounding women in STEM; a field which has long been a male-dominated space,” says Olivia.
“Being offered the chance to produce a video series with FUTURE YOU was incredible news! I can’t wait to explore current and emerging careers in STEM, as well as meet some of the incredible women leading the way! Olivia and I hope that our series will help inspire girls and boys by introducing them to the many opportunities in STEM, while breaking down current stereotypes,” adds Nadine.
Misha Schubert, CEO of Science & Technology Australia who run Superstars of STEM, is committed to helping address the gender equity gap in STEM. She was keen to be involved in the program when approached by FUTURE YOU. Superstars from the initiative will feature as guests on the series.
“Science & Technology Australia’s Superstars of STEM are an inspiring group of women who showcase the diversity of the Australian STEM sector and STEM careers. We are excited to collaborate with the National Youth Science Forum and Australia’s Women in STEM Ambassador to help the next generations of young Australians to see themselves as future scientists, engineers and technologists.”
NYSF’s CEO, Dr Melanie Bagg, is proud to support the FUTURE YOU program to help challenge stereotypes in STEM and show young people that careers in STEM are for everyone.
“Watching NYSF participants pitch their ideas on busting STEM gender myths and encouraging kids to imagine themselves in STEM careers reinforced my view that bringing young people into the conversation is crucial when developing youth campaigns – their insights and creativity are boundless.
Olivia and Nadine are wonderful ambassadors of the NYSF, their communication skills and ability to engage a much younger audience make them ideal science and technology translators. We can’t wait to see the work they do with the Women in STEM Ambassador and Australia’s Superstars of STEM to show young people how engaging and rewarding STEM careers can be.”
To follow the development of Olivia and Nadine’s FUTURE YOU program and stay in the know about all FUTURE YOU activities, join the FUTURE YOU mailing list at www.futureyouaustralia.com
To find out more about National Youth Science Forum, visit their website.
To find our more about the Superstars of Stem, visit their website.
Thanks to all who participated in the competition!
FUTURE YOU EMERGING STEM LEADERS FILM PROGRAM
FUTURE YOU is looking for young people to take part in 4 short films about STEM. In these films, each subject will talk about their interest in STEM and introduce viewers to a community/school-based project in which they are involved and that has a STEM focus, and an output that has a social/community focus.
In the video, the intention is that a younger sibling/family friend/schoolmate (8-12 year old), will ask them questions about the project, the need for the project, their interest in STEM, and what they are hoping to do in the future. The FUTURE team will work with participants in the producing of the film.
Participants need to be between the age of 15 and 19 and already taking part in a community/neighbourhood/school project that provides STEM-based solutions to social or environmental issues. An honorarium of $500 will be available to participants for their time.
Interested participants should contact us here.
ABOUT FUTURE YOU
FUTURE YOU is a program aimed at getting 8 -12 year old girls across Australia interested in the jobs that will open in the world of STEM in the future.
Research has shown that STEM is a HUGE growth area in career possibilities for the future, but that also young women are often dissuaded from thinking about working in STEM at an early age. This is often a result of negative or stereotypical perceptions of the sector, a lack of information and role models, or a combination of all of these factors.
But the potential of these future roles is infinite and infinitely exciting.
These jobs could be designing and building Australia’s first space vehicle and piloting it; coming up with a new food source, or building the machines that will help the world’s scientists, doctors and nurses tackle future health problems; or protecting Australia’s unique animal and plant life, while tackling the needs of our cities and our country towns.
The world of work is changing so much that many of these future jobs may not yet exist, while the challenges the world faces are already here and growing bigger every day.
FUTURE YOU is about helping girls everywhere to start thinking about the responses STEM can provide to these questions, and how they can see themselves being part of the solution, and we want your help to inspire them.
Check out our FAQs and Conditions here.