Media Invited – University of Melbourne (Law Building) or Live Stream, 17 August from 11.15am on @AMSIChooseMaths
Australian Years 10 to 12 students will participate in a national live streamed maths careers session this Friday (17 August) hosted by the Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute (AMSI) as part of the 2018 Choose Maths careers campaign.
With Mathematics officially in demand by industry – it is a toolbox must-have for 75 per cent of growth employment areas – the event aims to inspire students to keep their options open by choosing maths into Years 11 and 12 and university.
Streaming from 11am on August 17, 150 students are also expected to join Choose Maths careers ambassadors at the University of Melbourne as thousands more remote, regional and metropolitan students log on nationally.
The event will turn Australia into a national classroom allowing students in remote and regional areas to join the discussion and be inspired by the five featured Choose Maths careers ambassadors. Putting students front and centre of the discussion, the panel will also be grilled in a national Q&A hosted by superstar Astrophysicist, Alan Duffy.
Speakers include:
Professor Alan Duffy Astrophysicist, Swinburne University, Australia’s Research Institute
Dr Saskia Freytag Postdoctoral Researcher, WEHI
Lesley West Marking Analytics Director, Data2Decisions
Jess Tavrou Football Analyst, Carlton Football Club
Laura McMahon Engineering Graduate
AMSI Director, Professor Geoff Prince said the Institute was excited to give students in all areas of the country the opportunity to engage directly with Australians working in maths.
“Careers awareness is critical to fostering understanding of the value and impact of these skills as a pathway to future employability,” he said.
The event officially launches the 2018 Choose Maths careers campaign including national advertising and distribution of resource packs to schools across Australia and launch of the new careers portal, https://careers.amsi.org.au.
Delivered as part of AMSI’s $22 million national Choose Maths partnership project with BHP Billiton Foundation, the packs include:
- Ambassador posters and postcards
- Careers booklet featuring the stories of all 2018 Careers Ambassadors
- Study tips handout
- Maths Pathways Guide for senior students
- Copies of Maths Adds Careers Guide 2018/19
Endorsing the latest edition of Maths Adds Careers Guide, 2018 Australian of the Year Professor Michelle Simmons said she wanted students to see mathematics as a gateway to understanding the world.
“Our society is increasingly reliant upon mathematics and data analysis, and people with advanced quantitative skills are in high demand,” she said.
AMSI Schools Program Manager and Choose Maths Project Director, Janine McIntosh, said the campaign’s focus on ordinary Australians doing extraordinary things with mathematics and statistics was behind its powerful impact.
“Students can place themselves in these remarkable stories and imagine them as their own, for girls this is essential to help rewrite the gender narratives that have seen them limit themselves for so long,” she says.
BHP Billiton Foundation Chief Executive, Mr James Ensor, said the campaign was an important initiative to equip young Australians with the skills needed to prosper in the workforce of tomorrow.
“BHP Billiton Foundation is excited to be part of this campaign and champion the value and impact of mathematics as one key foundations of future success. Students can see themselves reflected in the experiences and inspiring stories of the Australians featured in this campaign,” he said.
Media invited to attend:
11am 17 August, University of Melbourne Law Building, Parkville Campus
Please call Laura Watson on 04215 18733
Media Resources:
Careers Portal: https://careers.amsi.org.au
Link to Livestream from 11.15am: @AMSIChooseMaths
Maths Adds Careers Guide 2018/19: https://amsi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/mathsadds-2018-19-web.pdf
For Interview:
Professor Geoff Prince, AMSI Director
Careers Ambassadors
Students
Media Contact: Laura Watson
E: media@amsi.org.au
M: 04215 18733
P: +613 9035 3683
