From The Junior Secondary
Head of Department
With Gerard Clark
Resourceful workshop energises Gladstone students’ STEM passion
Toolooa SHS students recently had an opportunity to power their minds and problem-solving skills at a workshop delivered by the Queensland Minerals and Energy Academy (QMEA), the education arm of the Queensland Resources Council (QRC).
Thanks to support from ConocoPhillips Australia, as downstream operator of Australia Pacific LNG (APLNG), about 45 Grade 8 students from Toolooa, Gladstone and Calliope state high schools, and Chanel College learnt the intricacies of energy generation, demand, and supply.
QRC Director of Skills, Education and Diversity, Ms Katrina-Lee Jones said students worked in teams and alongside industry representatives as they investigated options for creating an Energy Plan for 2050, based on real-world challenges and opportunities.
“This unique workshop, which is linked with the national science curriculum, used real-time data from the National Energy Market (NEM) to show students how Australia, and its states and territories are powered,” Ms Jones said.
“It comes at a pertinent time when energy generation, distribution and use are undergoing significant change in Queensland and nationally.
“Students had the chance to investigate various types of energy generation, allowing them to gain a better understanding of the challenges and opportunities associated with each form.”
“Factoring in aspects like buying and selling, supply and demand, the students were tasked with developing their own Energy Contracts for 2050, while considering renewable energy targets and peak demand forecasts.”
ConocoPhillips Australia’s Manager Communities and Sustainable Development, Mr Robert Gibb said representatives from the business were very impressed with the students’ presentations of their team’s 2050 Energy Contracts.
“We know students benefit from applying their classroom learning to real-world scenarios, and it was fantastic to see how well these bright young men and women grasped such a complex topic like the NEM,” Mr Gibb said.
SANTOS GLNG Digitech Competition / Site Visit
Last term in STEM Squad, students competed in the 2022 SANTOS GLNG Digitech Challenge. Santos GLNG, along with Queensland Minerals Energy Academy (QMEA) proudly supported the DigiTech Challenge at high schools in the Gladstone Region recently. The Santos GLNG DigiTech challenge aims to encourage students with an interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) to explore new skills and career possibilities.
The technology sector is an ever-growing industry, offering students the opportunity to explore the basics of HTML coding (Hyper Text Markup Language). Learning HTML coding skills gives students the ability to build a website, set content across multiple pages, use images and build and input videos. Students were given the task to either build a website around a topic of their choice or deliver an overview of their career choice in the LNG industry.
The finalists of the challenge were invited to Curtis Island to visit the Santos GLNG plant, where they had the opportunity to showcase their websites to the Production Manager and broader GLNG team. With numerous prizes on offer, there was significant competition between the schools. The students were also offered an opportunity to meet the GLNG team and explore the numerous career opportunities available in the Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) industry.
Congratulations to the winners of the 2022 Santos GLNG DigiTech Challenge! We are extremely proud to support the students in developing their skills and learning in the technology sector.