2022 National Youth Science Forum
As part of our Youth Service, Karrinyup Rotary again sponsored students to attend the 2022 National Youth Science Forum (NYSF). Karrinyup Rotary's NYSF program organiser Eddy Giacomel, introduced our 2022 students Julyanna Lontoc and Jagriti Mehta, both from our link school Warwick SHS.
The National Youth Science Forum Year 12 annual program brings together hundreds of Year 12 students from all around Australia, who are interested in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). Established in 1984, its purpose is to encourage young people in their passion for science. This year, the program ran differently due to the COVID pandemic, with a hybrid program, which was held online and in-person simultaneously. Each state hosted in-person ‘hubs’ over the span of a week. In their joint presentation, Jagriti and Julyanna described described their Perth based experience, which introduced them to opportunities, experiences and experts in many fields.
During the online program, the students had the opportunity to chat to and listen in on lectures from Dr Karl, Peter Doherty and more. They explored options through career sessions held by companies such as Lockheed Martin, the Telethon Kids Institute, the Australian Space Agency, Quantum Brilliance and ResMed. There were also opportunities to explore university options through sessions held by the University of Queensland, the Australian National University and other respected institutions and there was a ‘live’ tour of the National History Museum in London, research stations in Antarctica and a flyover of the nuclear reactor from the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation.
Their in-person experiences included visits to Garden Island Australian Naval Base, Curtin University, Murdoch University, CSIRO space and astronomy, Telethon Kids Institute and Perth Zoo.
The girls said NYSF enabled connections with professionals in the field, who were very willing to answer questions, despite their busy schedules, and also introduced them to many other NYSF participants and new friendships.
Both girls aspire to undertake tertiary education. Jagriti wishes to study either health or physical science, while Julyanna is interested in the health sciences.
The students each volunteered twenty hours of community service at the Stirling Farmers Market, as a way of giving back to the community. During this time they learned about Rotary and developed a sense of community.
Julyanna and Jagriti expressed their sincere gratitude to the Rotary Club of Karrinyup for funding the amazing NYSF experience, which they would not have otherwise been able to have.