Australian Science Innovations: Documenting the Australian Science Olympiad Summer School
Demystify the Australian Science Olympiad Summer School, inspiring talented students to attend and support diversity in STEMM across Australia.
Student opportunity type
Degree level
About
Australian Science Innovations (ASI) is one of Australia’s leading providers of innovative and challenging science programs, competitions and residential camps for high achievers. Our vision is to contribute to building Australia’s scientific community through inspiring and developing our best science students.
Project: Documenting the Australian Science Olympiad Summer School
| Internship details | |
| Internship Availability | Summer, 2025: 6 Jan – 14 Feb |
| Internship Discipline/s |
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| Internship Level | 2nd or 3rd year Undergraduate, and Postgraduate Coursework |
| Available to International Students | Yes |
| Preferred Project Skills: |
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| Clearances Required | ACT Working with Vulnerable People card |
| Host Supervisor | Bec Pollock, Marketing and Communications Officer, ASI T: 0493 960 765 |
| Location | ANU – various locations. ASI head office within the Research School of Physics at 60 Mills Road, ACTON. |
| Project Opportunities/Benefits for the Intern | We are a small, fun and friendly team that does big things for science education in Australia. You’ll gain experience working in an office environment and gain an understanding of the nuances related to working for a not-for-profit organisation. This project is important to our strategic-priorities and your work will become practical measures that help refine and improve our Olympiad program, supporting diversity in STEM across Australia. With this project, you can enhance your own portfolio with these real-life impactful pieces of work, including the results and analytics achieved from your work. |
Summary:
The Australian Science Olympiad Program tests and trains Australia’s brightest students, with the ultimate aim of selecting four Australian teams to compete at an International Science Olympiad, in either Biology, Chemistry, Earth Science or Physics. Broadly, the program consists of three stages:
1. Australian Science Olympiad Exam (ASOE) – sat by around 6,000 students.
2. Summer School – our residential training school, for the top eligible 96 students.
3. International competition – three teams of four students and one team of five students.
Stage 2, the Summer School is an intensive two-week residential program held in January at ANU. Taken at face-value, we know students undertake lectures, tutorials and practicals, honing their science skills and vying for a place on the Australian Team. However, in the past, Summer School has been a pretty closed off event. Unless you know someone who has been there, it is hard to comprehend what really goes on… what science are they doing and what else happens?
We’d like you to find out. Document it. Tell the stories.
We will use these stories to demystify Summer School and inspire talented students from typically underrepresented areas to give the Olympiad program a go. This program can be an amazing launch-pad into further STEM study and careers, and we want it to reach students from all across Australia.
We’ll also use them to enhance the experience and settle nerves for those who are going to attend future Summer Schools and the content produced will help show existing and potential sponsors the important impact of Summer School.
Your challenge is to:
1. Get amongst the students and staff at summer school; take pictures and videos; go vox popping.
2. Tell the story by producing a series of social media posts, and a wrap-up blog for each discipline.
3. Leave us with a suite of images and videos that we can turns into more posts, more reels, more blogs.
You will be required to show off your complete portfolio in a relaxed presentation to the Executive Director, ANU Intern Supervisor, and other key ASI and/or ANU staff, supported by a written report.