Skills and
education

At a time when the number of STEM students across Australia is falling, industry needs to step up to inspire more students to remain in STEM subjects so they might consider an exciting career solving some of the world’s biggest challenges.

 

Beacon, powered by BAE Systems and Lumination, will expose students to immersive technologies, robotics, artificial intelligence, 3D modelling and with the support of BAE Systems engineers, challenge them to develop solutions to real world problems related to sustainability.

 

Our goal with this program is to promote diversity and inclusion in STEM on a national scale, keep students engaged in their education and raise awareness of future career opportunities.

 

 

BAE Systems is working with the City of Playford to introduce a two-year STEM program to schools in the northern areas of Adelaide.

The cnVRg project is a collaboration between the Playford 10 program, Northern Sound System, Playford International College and up to 10 schools in the region.

 

Playford 10 already offers an in-school program in the north of Adelaide that includes programs around sport and recreation, creative arts, volunteering and development of social skills.

 

The STEM program will involve a group of Year 7 students developing a concept for a VR experience. They will then work with older students to explain their concept and work through any challenges. The older students will then take the design and produce the final product.

 

The project will involve about 120 young people, with skill development and training, and building aspirations toward STEM learning.

This desire to collaborate between primary and high schools will also bring together disparate groups from a range of socio-economic, ethnic, gender and ability backgrounds as a way to remove barriers and create more social cohesion.

 

BAE Systems engineers will be offered mentoring opportunities to assist these students in the design and creation of this project.

 

We are a key sponsor of the cnVRg project, showcasing the capacity of multiple stakeholders working together with a common agenda and shared values to improve the educational and wellbeing.

The Stars Foundation is a charity organisation that provides a holistic program supporting Indigenous girls and young women to attend and remain in school, complete Year 12 and move into work or further study.  

 

Our partnership assists in providing full-time in-school mentors, personal development plans, extra-curricular activities and a safe space at school in the Stars Room. 

 

In addition to financial support, BAE Systems Australia offers work experience, site tours and various immersive experiences where possible, to engage young Indigenous students to consider a STEM career.  

 

This initiative supports our desire to demonstrate our commitment to our communities, and our Inclusion & Diversity agenda to increase the diversity of traditionally disadvantaged and underrepresented groups in the workplace, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women.

 

 

BAE Systems Australia is working with other employers, AiGroup and Victoria University to launch the nation’s first degree apprentice program in 2023. 

 

Based on a model that currently operates in the United Kingdom, this pilot program will combine paid on-the-job training and assessment with university study resulting in a systems engineering degree. 

 

BAE Systems Australia is working with Defence Science and Technology Group and the University of Adelaide to progress research and teaching activities related to ionospheric physics and high frequency technologies.

JOIN is creating an ecosystem to develop and sustain capability of the next generation technical specialists who will deliver high frequency radar technologies. This is achieved through initiatives such as the establishment of the JOIN Innovation Laboratory at the University of Adelaide.

 

As a founding member of SmartSat Cooperative Research Centre (CRC), BAE Systems Australia participates in a number of research projects for technologies that will enhance and create new satellite system capabilities.

Each project is in collaboration with researchers at Australian universities, including the University of New South Wales, La Trobe University, University of Adelaide and the University of South Australia.

 

Line Zero is Australia’s first large scale advanced manufacturing accelerator, established in the Tonsley Innovation District, through a partnership between Flinders University and BAE Systems Australia.

 

At Line Zero, advanced manufacturing technologies are being trialled by BAE Systems Australia and a range of partner companies and the Innovative Manufacturing CRC to improve shipyard planning and add unique data analytics and problem solving capacity to the Hunter Class Frigate Program.

 

BAE Systems Australia has also partnered with Flinders University on a Diploma of Digital Technologies to upskill its workers, supply chain and STEM teachers in Industry 4.0 and other advanced manufacturing skills required to support a digital shipyard.

 

BAE Systems Australia is a founding member of Trusted Autonomous Systems Defence Cooperative Research Centre (TAS-DCRC), and is the Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) lead for land autonomy. 

 

The Trusted Autonomous Ground Vehicles for Electronic Warfare project aims to convert the Australian Army’s M113AS4 Armoured Personnel Carriers into Optionally Crewed Combat Vehicles (OCCVs).  

 

The project is a collaboration between BAE Systems Australia, the University of Melbourne and the University of Adelaide. It leverages partner university expertise in several autonomy-related fields, including semantic understanding at the University of Adelaide and multi-objective optimisation at the University of Melbourne.

 

BAE Systems Australia has established research partnerships with the University of Melbourne and the University of Queensland, supporting PhD student research projects that contribute to the advancement of our sovereign capability in hypersonics.