At The Knox School, we encourage students to pursue opportunities that challenge their thinking, broaden their horizons and connect their learning to the world beyond the classroom.
During the recent school holidays, Year 9 student Irina was selected to attend the prestigious Girl Power in Engineering and IT Residential Camp at the University of Melbourne. Through a competitive application and interview process, Irina earned a place among talented students from across Victoria, where she spent four days exploring engineering, technology and innovation while learning from university students and industry professionals.
Below, Irina shares her experience in her own words.
During the school holidays, I had the incredible opportunity to attend the Girl Power in Engineering and IT Residential Camp at the University of Melbourne. Before attending the camp, I completed a written application followed by an interview, where I presented an engineering solution to one of the United Nations Sustainable Development goals (SDGs). I was thrilled and excited to be selected as one of the participants and become part of the Girl Power community.
Over four exciting days, I stayed at University College alongside many other passionate and like-minded girls from across Victoria who share an interest in Engineering and Information Technology. Throughout the camp, we were mentored by current University Melbourne students studying in these fields, who inspired us by sharing their personal experiences and advice
After arriving at University College, we were warmly welcomed by our mentors and introduced to the program through a series of fun icebreaker activities. We were given a backpack full of gifts including a hoodie, notebook, drink bottle and other useful resources for the camp.
After settling into our individual accommodation, we enjoyed dinner in the beautiful dining hall before participating in a Design Thinking Workshop. During this workshop, we explored the design thinking process used by university students to develop innovative solutions to real world problems. The evening also gave me the opportunity to meet many amazing girls and begin forming new friendships
Day Two was definitely my favourite. We started with a guided tour of the University of Melbourne campus before taking part in a RoboGals workshop, where we programmed Micro small programmable computers equipped with LED lights, sensors and buttons. Using simple coding, we created interactive programs while learning the basic fundamentals of coding and electronics.
Later, we competed in a bridge building challenge which tested our teamwork, creativity and engineering skills.
In the afternoon, we visited the University’s Creator Space, where we began designing our own gliders. We learnt about the four forces of flight: lift, thrust, drag and weight, and how engineers use these principles to create aircrafts. My partner and I designed a Batman-inspired wing, which made the project even more enjoyable.
That evening, we watched Hidden Figures which tells us the true story of three brilliant African American women mathematicians, Katherine Johson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson, who made significant contributions to NASA during the Space Race. The movie highlighted the importance of perseverance, diversity and women breaking barriers within STEM fields.
The third day began with an AI Detection Workshop ran by Science Gallery Melbourne, where we learnt how artificial intelligence can generate misinformation and explored strengths for identifying trustworthy information online.
At lunchtime, we met members of the Melbounre University Racing (MUR) Team, a student led group that designs, builds and races Formula SAE cars. It was incredible to see how university students apply engineering principles to create high-performance racing vehicles while gaining valuable industry experience.
In the afternoon, we returned to the Marker Space to build, paint and test our completed gliders. My team’s glider proudly named “Pink Rhinos,” flew very successfully during testing.
Later that evening, we attended a panel discussion featuring inspiring, experienced women working in engineering, technology and other traditionally male dominated industries for example Boeing. Listening to their experiences, career journeys and advice about overcoming challenges was one of the most inspiring and memorable parts of the camp.
We also continued working on our major group project, where we designed a superhero capable of solving a global issue using these fields.
On our final day, we participated in a Students in Renewable Energy (SiRE) workshop, where we explored renewable energy technologies through hands on activities involving wind turbines energy systems.
Afterwards we finalised our group projects before presenting them to students, mentors and university staff. My team focused on SDG 14: Life below water. We created a superhero named Aqua to protect marine ecosystems from ocean acidification. Aqua uses innovative GPS-guided smart buoy capable of monitoring ocean PH levels in real time.
This autonomous buoy could detect areas where acidity levels become harmful to marine life, navigate to those locations using GPS technology and release seaweed seeds and kelp seeds. As thy grow rapidly and absorbs large amounts of carbon dioxide through photosynthesis and help restore healthier marine ecosystems.
Presenting and making our projects allowed us to apply everything we had learnt throughout the camp while demonstrating how engineering can be used to solve global challenges.
The Girl Power Camp was an unforgettable experience that strengthened my passion for STEM while allowing me to meet inspiring people and make wonderful new friends. It showed me that engineering is about much more than building machines but about using innovation and teamwork to improve people’s lives.
If you are currently in Year 8 and have an interest in Engineering or IT, I highly encourage you to apply for next year’s Girl Power Program. The program is completely free, offers incredible hands-on learning opportunities and is an experience you will never forget. If you would like to know more about the program, feel free to ask me.
