Reports have projected need for 1.2 million tech jobs by 2030 and 2 million workers in engineering and building trades by 2050. Yet, students’ participation in STEM subjects has been declining, threatening to prolong Australia’s STEM workforce shortage.
To address this, the Federal Government introduced support for schools through a National STEM School Education Strategy from 2016-2026. But while this initiative was widely welcomed, it’s unfortunately showing few results.
The insufficient number of engineers graduating yearly – just 8.5% of Australian University graduates receive engineering degrees compared to over 12% in Canada and a greater 23% in Germany – reflects the lack of STEM education at the secondary level – an issue that Westbourne College in Sydney is successfully addressing and overperforming in.
The College – a prestigious and STEM-focused, International Baccalaureate-only private school – is leading the sector with its IB graduates ranking within the top 1% worldwide and 1st in Australia.
Below, The Educator speaks to Principal Patrick McGing about the College’s approach to STEM education, how it measures the success of its programs, and the most significant challenges and opportunities he sees for preparing young people for the workforce of the future.
TE: What approach did the College take to ensuring its STEM curriculum was fully integrated with real-world applications to ensure students not only excel academically but are also well-prepared for the complexities of the global STEM workforce?
Westbourne students access fully equipped university laboratories including world-class UTS Science SuperLabs and UNSW Department of Physics. They conduct experiments under the supervision of our teachers with additional mentoring by university lab technicians and postgraduate students. Through this exposure to tertiary expertise and resources, our students can delve deeper with experiments while building interpersonal skills such as communication, collaboration and resilience that will ultimately be beneficial in the global STEM workforce.
Further, the College is an open-plan business environment, simulating a workplace and allowing teachers to be easily accessible for further support. Smart business attire replaces the traditional school uniform policy at Westbourne College and teachers are known on a first-name basis. These elements are introduced early so that students adapt and be prepared for their future careers.
TE: How do you measure the success of your programs when it comes to narrowing the STEM qualification gap in Australia, and what metrics (or outcomes) indicate that your students are workforce-ready?
Westbourne’s STEM-centric IB Diploma Programme is proving successful with our first two cohorts achieving academic excellence and ranking 1st across Sydney. From our Class of 2023, 46% of students achieved 40+ IB points (of 45, the equivalent of a 97.40 ATAR) and all students received first-round offers to their preferred university course across Australian Universities. It is also important for us that female students, in particular, are encouraged to apply to study at Westbourne and to date, our college consists of a balanced co-educational environment.
Westbourne College is a very young school and our graduating students are still at university. We know, through our alumni connections that they are achieving excellence but they are yet to enter the market where they can showcase their talents. What we do know is that our unique environment promotes and facilitates creativity and excellence. Aside from our outstanding academic results, our students are incredibly proactive in seeking opportunities for career advancement. For example, 14 of our Year 10 and 11 students will be travelling to Singapore to attend Westbourne’s Future Leaders Lab, a “mini MBA” workshop, with Adjunct Professor Adrian Johnson from leading business school INSEAD in June of 2024. Many of our activities, such as using the UTS Science SuperLab and Medical Simulation Lab are unique to our College.
TE: How has Westbourne College’s partnerships with sibling schools in the United Kingdom and Singapore enhanced the learning experiences and opportunities for your students, particularly in STEM fields?
There are a multitude of enhanced learning experiences for Westbourne students. First, Year 11 students can participate in an overseas excursion to Westbourne School, UK. Sydney students join those in the UK and are taught by highly experienced STEM teachers. Together they complete a Group 4 science project as part of the IB Diploma Programme.
Second, Sydney students participate in virtual global classrooms or support sessions that are led by teachers across Sydney, Singapore or the UK. Teachers collaborate to further and share knowledge, ultimately providing even more expertise to Westbourne students around the world.
Westbourne International has now launched the Future Leaders Lab, a mini-MBA style programme led by INSEAD Adjunct Professor Adrian Johnson. Skills learnt from this, such as being agile, taking calculated risks and more, complement STEM skills so that students are well-prepared from every aspect.
As Westbourne International continues to expand with more colleges around the globe, our students will continue to gain and benefit from these opportunities.
TE: What challenges and opportunities do you think the rapid rise of AI presents schools when it comes to getting them STEM-ready and preparing young people for the future workforce?
AI presents significant challenges and opportunities. The key is directing our students to use AI to replace lower-order cognitive tasks that do not add value to learning with higher-order and creative tasks that AI cannot replicate. Although we designated AI’s limitations at our own ignorance at times. There are two aspects to this - learning and designing. AI’s role in learning must be managed by educators, who can ensure that students are not taking “short-cuts” that detract from their mastery of subject knowledge. The STEM space is high-paced and demands agility and competency in basic aspects of Mathematics and Engineering is required. AI has a role in creativity and design but not an “end-to-end” role where AI is used for all key aspects of design. If students, and those in the workforce, have an overreliance on AI, design will inevitably become narrower and outcomes will become homogenised. What we need is students and designers who use AI to manage the time-consuming and less creative elements of design and spend time saved on the “human” domain of design that adds value and ensures uniqueness.