ASC helps students get into subs
Australia’s submarine company, ASC, this week supported high school STEM education initiative SUBS In Schools, supporting education in engineering and technical fields important to the future of ASC and the maritime sector.
As a major sponsor of SUBS in Schools and mentor to the Le Fevre High School team, ASC provides its experience in real-world submarines, as the builder and maintainer of the Collins Class submarine fleet.
The program is run by Re-Engineering Australia, in association with the Department of Defence.
The South Australian state final was conducted from Wednesday, 6 September to Friday, 8 September at the Adelaide Show Grounds. It fosters students’ interest in science, the technology of submersible vehicles and submarines, and more broadly STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects, through project-based learning.
ASC’s Interim CEO, Stuart Whiley said: “It is vitally important that Australia educates more students in STEM, ensuring that we have a highly skilled and capable workforce to support the Federal Government’s naval shipbuilding agenda.”
“As an employer of choice, tasked to work on the country’s most sophisticated naval platforms, it is imperative that ASC invests in its future workforce, promoting STEM learning and career pathways to high school students.”
Students are paired with two ASC mentors, Nick Jones, Lead Electrical Engineer, Electrical Systems and Rikus van Altena, Graduate Engineer, applying their real life experience maintaining and enhancing Collins Class submarines on the submarine model.
Le Fevre High School’s Coordinator, Design and Technology/STEM, Eddie Grzeskowiak, said:
“The industry mentorship structure benefits students in not only understanding the rigour and attention to detail required in planning projects but they also seek advice from the mentors about their work, the training and/or education path they took to get there, and most of all their enjoyment in their chosen career.” “It has been pleasing to see students’ growth throughout the program and the pride they take with their accomplishments; they receive great enjoyment from even the smallest aspects of the project.”
Students build a remote-controlled submarine model, one metre long, which is put through its paces on Wednesday, 6 September in a ‘Sea Trials’ at St Peters Girls College, where students guide their submarines through a pool.
Students will then produce engineering, project management and marketing support documents on Thursday, 7 September and Friday, 8 September at the Royal Adelaide Showgrounds for the final round of judging.
Participation in STEM projects such as SUBS in Schools allow students to interact with like-minded students from across South Australia, while further developing STEM skills.
“Since commencing the program a number of students involved have become more interested in enrolling in our Naval Engineering program at Le Fevre High School and pursuing a career in support of the naval shipbuilding program post studies,” said Eddie.
In May this year the Federal Government’s naval shipbuilding plan confirmed that Australia will build its new fleets of submarines, frigates and patrol vessels in Adelaide and Perth as part of a new continuous shipbuilding policy.
ASC offers highly competitive entry-level programs for graduate engineers and tradespeople to ensure its continual workforce development.
ASC also works closely with Universities to shape the next generation of submarine and shipbuilders, with ASC subject matter experts developing and delivering key courses within the Masters of Marine Engineering, at the University of Adelaide.
Over 250 specialist engineers are employed across ASC in submarine capability and as the lead shipbuilder in the Air Warfare Destroyer program, with engineering resources unparalleled within Australia’s defence industry.
