By Charlene Macaulay
A Wyndham challenge has helped create the next generation of women in tech.
Wyndham Tech School got 52 year 7 to 11 female students to flex their creative muscles last week in the Smart Her Wyndham Challenge, a round robin challenge that encouraged students to use technology to solve problems.
School director Brenda Frisk said the winners, a team from Tarneit P-9 College, had developed a prototype of a new park for kids aged 13 to 17.
“These are the skill sets we need in industry,” Ms Frisk said.
The tech school, based at Victoria University’s Werribee campus, opened in June and includes design studios and simulation and collaboration hubs with state-of-the-art technology – a virtual reality area, robots and 3D laser printers – to give secondary school students advanced education and training in science, technology, engineering and maths.
Year 10 Wyndham College student Priscilia Goh said her team had created a prototype of a school crossing that would benefit students, teachers and drivers.
“We made an overhead bridge and had a little person standing on the bridge,” she said.
“Two people from our group had gone to Spain as part of a school trip and they saw overhead bridges there … we decided to prototype that and we learned there was a thing called design thinking.”
Priscilia, who wants to be an aerospace engineer, said having the ability to use hands-on technology would give her a competitive edge in the future.
