Media Release
September 2 2009
UniSA and Adelaide girls' school celebrate HP grant win
An
Adelaide girls’ school has recently been awarded a $150,000 Hewlett
Packard (HP) grant for their UniSA
supported hands-on robotics program.
St
Mary’s College was one of only three schools Australia wide, and the
only South Australian school to receive a portion of the grant, which
represents part of $470,000 allocated to the South Pacific Region as
part of the global HP Innovation in Education grants program.
For the past three years, UniSA’s Division of Information Technology,
Engineering and the Environment has supported St Mary’s College via its
robotic peer mentoring program, which forms part of the school’s
science, technology and maths curriculum.
The peer mentoring program is supported by the State and Australian
Governments and involves mentors from all three South Australian
universities and TAFESA.
This year, students in Year 10 worked alongside mentors to construct and
program robots, including a small robotic car.
Additionally, Year Nine students worked with mentors and UniSA staff at
the Technology and Engineering Day where they received hands on
experience in robotic programming to prepare them for the intensive unit
they take in Year 10.
Joanne Surman, Science Coordinator at St Mary’s College, said that the
program has been extremely successful.
“UniSA has been working with St Mary’s College to provide a meaningful
and achievable electronics course which introduces students to the world
of electronics,” she said.
Peter Eksedt, Director of Global Citizenship at HP Asia Pacific and
Japan said that the St Mary’s program is an example of the future of
education.
“The successful proposals serve as lighthouse examples of how
technology-enabled schools, students and teachers can lead the way in
transforming education in this country,” he said.
Media contact
- Heather Leggett office (08) 8302 0096 mobile 0434 078 819 email heather.leggett@unisa.edu.au