The Winner of the Opal Award for Engaged Community Service:

MIST

Dr Rosie Thrupp, Marg Flanders and Wendy Fasso- BUNDABERG

MIST is an annual conference for school children which aims to engage and enthuse, and to help them decide if they want a career in science, IT, maths or technology (MIST).  The areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) are critical to the well-being of our communities and nation. Consequently, building the expertise of future leaders in these fields and the literacies of all children is vital to the sustainability of industry and community and therefore also to the sustainability of the University too.

The conference has developed as an initiative of the School of Education, Bundaberg, heavily supported by Arts, Business and IT, ITD and the campus personnel generally. It involves significant collaboration and team work to put together both internally across University work units as well as externally with schools. The conference consists of workshops taught by specialists in the various fields. The workshops build on the classroom learning of 9-14 years in the areas of mathematics, science and technology with the ultimate aim of increasing the number of students choosing to study in these areas and improving science, mathematics and technology literacies.  40% of the participating schools are classed as rural. From 2007 to 2009, it was Girls in the MIST but in 2010 it was extended to Boys in the MIST and Girls in the MIST. The MIST conference responds to the gender issues related to these areas of study and careers. In initially focusing on girls, MIST attempted to improve girl's attitudes towards studying Maths, ICTs, Science and Technology.

The MIST conference enables children to grow to participate actively in the decision-making of their local and national community as knowledgeable adults, drawing upon an interest in mathematics, ICT, Science and Technology (design).

The growth of the event from 200 children in 2007 to 1060 children in 2010 is evidence of the positive impact and the value the conference has to schools in the Bundaberg region.

This event enables school children to become familiar with the university environment and for the general community to feel comfortable with their university and view it as an acceptable location of study. The event builds positive community-university relationships creating future recruitment opportunities and improving and promoting the University's credibility and reputation as a valuable community asset.