Students inspired by a world of possibilities
SMEC’s North Sydney office hosted a half day ‘Degrees at Work’ event for students from Liverpool Boys High School, in collaboration with our charity partner ASPIRE.
SMEC’s North Sydney office hosted a half day ‘Degrees at Work’ event for students from Liverpool Boys High School, in collaboration with our charity partner ASPIRE.
ASPIRE is an award-winning outreach program run by the University of New South Wales (UNSW), working in communities where the number of school students who go on to university is low. Their aim is to help students in their partner schools discover that there are more options available to them when they leave school than they thought. Going to university could be one of them.
The programme started with a panel discussion led by Luke Drowley, Manager Tunnels NSW, who has worked on major infrastructure projects both in Australia and abroad. Students had a tour of the premises where they learned about CAD drawing and structure, and even experienced a virtual reality (VR) set up. They enjoyed a networking lunch with many SMEC staff and senior management – including ANZ CEO James Phillis – who took time out to meet the students and share their tips, insights and experience with them.
The event garnered such positive feedback that ASPIRE has asked for a repeat next year. Students said some of the most useful things they learned related to transferrable skills and how to set goals. A teacher wrote he “learnt the various engineering roles and more about the behind the scenes. Helped in making me confident in explaining this to students.” A SMEC staff member added that meeting the students helped him to “reconnect with my younger self” as he talked about how to plan their future.
