Guest speaker Emily Knight was given a brief introduction by Youth Director, Deidre Tome. Before getting into her presentation, Emily expressed her sincere appreciation to Sunrise Rotary for supporting her to attend the National Youth Science Forum in Canberra.
- Day 1 was taken up with the arrival of all students, followed by an initial NYSF briefing and allocation of students into their respective floor groups. Small Post-it Notes and other forms of welcome posters were scattered around as students found their respective groups.
- Day 2 was the formal Opening Address and group photo session. Also included was a visit to the heritage listed Australian Academy of Science. That this building is heritage listed came as a total surprise to Emily. There was also a visit to witness some ‘Biofluidic Imaging’ (Google it) and the day was rounded off with a Scavenger Hunt.
- Day 3 & Day 4 consisted of careers information, lectures, exhibitions, speed meetings and introductions to UNSW Civil Engineering, ANU Chemistry and a ‘live cross’ to the CERN Live Gateway in Switzerland (again, Google it for more info). Emily mentioned in particular the advances being made towards producing ‘sustainable’ concrete.
- Day 5 included the Great Debate followed by a visit to Questacon and Parliament House. A visit to the Botanic Gardens was also on the agenda but your Editor can’t decipher his own notes to ascertain whether that visit went ahead due to the weather (specifically the heat) causing it to be cancelled. Either way, the day concluded with the obligatory Disco.
- Day 6 included specialist lectures, STEM Olympics and some relaxation (or Disco recovery).
- Day 7 & 8 consisted of visits to Geoscience AUS, ANU Computer Science, live crosses and specialist lectures. The NYSF formal closing event took place followed lastly by the closing concert at day’s end.
- Day 9 consisted of farewells with lasting fond memories of NYSF 2026.
For her part, Emily listed her takeaways as being new connections and friends made, STEM and career opportunities, more interest in volunteering, visits to ANU and UNSW campuses. As for the future, NYSF has confirmed but also expanded her thoughts regarding career prospects with an emphasis on Physics. Emily again thanked Sunrise RC for the support given to her.
As a footnote to Emily’s presentation, former NYSF 2024 student but now NYSF 2026 Alumni, Isaac Bloor stepped up to the lectern to give a very brief summary of his experience attending the Brisbane NYSF event. Although challenging, Isaac found the role also very fulfilling.
