UNE is developing a regional partnership model called the STEM Quarter (STEM Q) to connect industry and investment with STEM based research and education through mutually beneficial projects.
STEM Q seeks to support growth opportunities across the region under four key pillars: agribusiness, health and wellbeing, digital intelligence and enabling STEM-aligned infrastructure.
Community consultation for this project has begun. Join the conversation.
Project Director Naomi Nielsen said the consultation process is intended to identify the opportunities and challenges that the local business community, government, students, educators and others are encountering in the space of STEM skills and infrastructure.
“In the future, 75% of jobs are expected to demand STEM skills,” Ms Nielsen said. "This is a growth opportunity for the regions, where workplace flexibility, upgraded transport links and lower costs of living are becoming attractive to businesses that once only considered metropolitan areas as viable locations."
“At the heart of STEM Q is an education pipeline that delivers job-ready graduates to the region. We also aim to support the development of Graduate Ready jobs in STEM fields. We would also like to know more about the perceptions and the gaps in the supply of job ready graduates and where STEM Q can add value."
“We would like to gather ideas, stories and experiences from community members across the New England North West so that we can understand more about the industries we need to support, and skills we need to deploy.”
“We would like to hear from all members of the community in our region and indeed regional NSW. The views of the community are a valuable piece of this conversation, especially those who seek to build their businesses and careers in our region and have a stake in this initiative.”
Farmer and founder of the Bingara-based financial services provider Regional CFO, Simon Groth, will be contributing to the consultation.
STEM Q recognises that Regional Australia is the backbone of Australia's economic growth and prosperity, Mr Groth said, and that the regions have an abundance of talent and resources.
"But talent drain is a big issue. We need to keep the top-of-the-crop people in the regions. I see this as largely a matter of access to infrastructure and services in the regions - adequate internet and phone coverage, access to specialist medical practitioners, basic road and public transport infrastructure."
"Many rural businesses are leading the world in ag-tech innovation - yet outside of town limits it is difficult to send a text message. This is a huge barrier in an ever-connected economy.
Lifting STEM capability would provide a "huge" boost, he said.
"The people and ideas are already around us. Regional businesses are naturally innovative and resilient due to dealing with the hard Australian conditions. Bringing the collective bank of innovative knowledge all together is the challenge."
"This is an opportunity to contribute to making the regions the innovative engine of our economy.”
Community getting on board
All communities are greater than the sum of their parts, Monty Maguire believes, but not all communities take the time to get together and find out what they collectively add up to.
This, and the opportunity to understand what ideas other sectors might offer, is why the Powerhouse Hotel Armidale general manager is keen to participate in the STEM Q consultation process.
“I think we can learn something from every collaboration, no matter how big or small,” Ms Maguire said. “STEM Q provides a space for that to start.”
Her top priorities are how to attract and sustain highly skilled workers in the regions, and how to redirect some of the flow of capital from big cities to regional areas.
“A focus on lifting STEM capability in our region is a great initiative for future growth, no matter what industry you’re in. It has the potential to improve health, education and investment for years to come.”
Ms Maguire is particularly interested in her own industries, tourism and hospitality, and enabling projects that support these sectors, like improved airport capacity and facilities.
“The STEM Q initiative looks to be a great network to be involved with to support this sort of development, given the diversity and the reach of the program to connect business with innovation.”
Read more about STEM Q.
