Ever wondered how you kickstart a career in STEM? Want to know how you can support your talented child? Do you yearn to join the cool kids in pursuing their STEM dreams?
There are a number of organisations and events around the world that support classroom learning, but aim to inspire a lifelong passion for STEM subjects and careers. Perhaps the most prestigious are the Science Olympiads.
The International Science Olympiads are a group of worldwide annual competitions in various areas of the formal sciences, natural sciences, and social sciences. The aims of each ISO are to promote a career in science; to challenge the brightest students from around the world; and to compare the various teaching systems of each country. The standards of the Olympiads are extremely high with many prestigious universities offering places to the Olympiad graduates.
- Asian Physics Olympiad
- International Chemistry Olympiad
- International Astronomy Olympiad
- International Biology Olympiad
- International Junior Science Olympiad
- International Mathematical Olympiad
- International Earth Science Olympiad
- Asian Pacific Mathematical Olympiad
- International Olympiad in Informatics
- World Robot Olympiad
The prestigious and highly competitive Olympiad teams are fed by a range of in-country programs which educate, select and train students ready to compete. Often associated with local universities, these programs involve rigorous theory and experimental components designed to stretch students academically and expose them to exceptional research and teaching academics.
Not quite ready for the rigours of the Olympiads? In Australia, you can look into organisations like NYSF (National Youth Science Forum) and NMSS (National Mathematics Summer School). The National Youth Science Forum is a not-for-profit organisation that runs a number of residential programs to encourage young people in their passion for science. NMSS is a two-week residential school for mathematically gifted and talented senior high school students held each January at The Australian National University. These two programmes expose students to a range of disciplines and ideas in a fun, residential environment. These are typically supported and run by government and university affiliated organisations such as the Australian Maths Trust (AMT) and Australian Science Innovations (ASI) who run a number of programs and competitions.
If you have a primary school aged child who is not quite ready for a residential programme, take a look at the Australian Government’s Future You website aimed at inspiring primary aged children, particularly girls, to think about STEM careers. We talked about it in our blog article here.
Older students looking at subject selection or pondering after school education options will find loads of information on the Careers With Stem website. This packed sight includes careers guides, quizzes, resources, videos , tips, inspiration and suggested pathways for students looking ahead for a career in STEM.
Promotion of STEM careers is certainly a hot topic at the moment so these suggestions are just a small selection of what may be available in your area. To find out more, contact your local university or science museum and see what organisations or programmes they work with or know about.
At DUG, we employ a number of past participants in the Olympiad programs and we value them for their strong problem-solving abilities, innovative thinking, and desire for excellence.
One of our employees has even developed his own website and board game based on educating children in Maths – check out our story on Dr Mike’s website here.
A career in STEM is rewarding and enriching. Get started today – look for your local STEM outreach program and get involved.
