Mike Stevens, District Chair of the NYSF, was a guest at our Club on December 7. He introduced the two students our Club is co-sponsoring. They gave a short talk about what they were hoping to achieve during their time at the forum.
Mike provided the following background information about the NYSF program.
"The National Science Summer School started in 1983 by the Rotary Clubs of Canberra. Its aim was to encourage high school science students to come to Canberra to study. In 1984, it changed to the National Youth Science Forum (NYSF). It is a not-for-profit organisation that runs a number of residential programs to encourage young people in their passion for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). I am beginning to add medicine and agriculture to these four because of their growing importance to Australia.
The flagship program is the NYSF Year 12 Program, which runs in January each year for students about to enter year 12. Since 1983, more than 11,000 young Australians have progressed through the NYSF Year 12 Program which is a 12-day residential program designed to give students a broader understanding of the diverse study and career options available in STEM and to encourage them to continue their studies in these fields. The program includes
visit science and technology related laboratories and facilities
go on site tours,
listen to lectures,
take part in workshops,
go to social events, and
participate in group activities that improve communication and presentation skills.
Participants also take part in sessions on entrepreneurship, critical thinking, how to work together effectively, and more. The focus is not solely on academic achievements, but on developing well-rounded individuals who have the skills and confidence to determine their futures.
The NYSF is run by youth for youth, with a certain number of participants being selected each year to come back and participate in our Student Staff Leadership Program in preparation to help run the program the year after they first attended.
Rotary is the Founding Partner of NYSF and today the 21 Rotary districts across Australia continue to conduct selections for the NYSF Year 12 Program on behalf of the NYSF. Rotarians support those students with part of the cost of the program and continue to encourage them after the program. Rotarians attend the sessions as Uncles and Aunties to provide pastoral care and first aid.
It has been a great pleasure for me to be involved as District Chair in the selection of the students this year. They will join some 550 other young people from across Australia on the Canberra campus of the Australian National University and in Brisbane at the University of Queensland. They will form lasting friendships and meet some of the leading practioners in the various STEM fields. Their experience will hold them in excellent stead into the future no matter what they do and they will be continually surprised at where and when they will meet other NYSFers".