Education the winner as NICTA and ACS award national ICT student prize
NICTA and the Australian Computer Society (ACS) have awarded the inaugural Young Aus-Innovators National ICT Prize to a team of high school students from Newington College in New South Wales. The winning team of Harrison Collin, Brenton Curko, Shannon Kwan and Chao Man will receive a cash prize of $2,500 and a two-week internship at NICTA during the school holidays.
The team’s project proposal focused on improving household security standards. The students now have the opportunity to further improve their project at NICTA where a mentor will oversee their next steps.
The second prize of $1,500 was won by a team of students from Caroline Chisholm Catholic College in Victoria. The third prize of $1,000 was won by a team of students from Patrician Brothers College Blacktown in New South Wales. A team of students from North Sydney Girls High School in New South Wales was also recognised with a Highly Commended award.
"The standard of entries was very high," said NICTA’s Director of Education, Dr Tim Hesketh. "I was encouraged by the variety of concepts the students presented, from sophisticated animation proposals and online games based on Arduino board programming, to the Bluetooth communications proposal that won first place."
Bruce Lakin, ACS Chief Executive Officer said: "We are proud to be associated with NICTA on the Young Aus-Innovators National ICT Prize to help nurture the next generation of ICT professionals. It is great that we have the support of leading schools to promote the prize to their students. ICT offers a diverse range of career opportunities for young people."
"This is a fantastic achievement for Harrison, Shannon, Brenton and Chao and one that they should be very proud of. It is extremely pleasing to see that the boys are able to demonstrate some of the key principles taught within the classroom and apply these to the design and construction of their project. Computing at Newington College places a focus on innovation and using the computer as a problem solving tool. The boys’ project demonstrates this philosophy, for which they are to be commended," said Mr Rodney Wood, Head of Computing Studies, Newington College.
The Young Aus-Innovators National ICT Prize, an initiative of the ACS and NICTA, was launched last year during the National ICT Careers Week. It aims to encourage high school students to consider careers in ICT. Now ubiquitous in our society, ICT careers can be tremendously rewarding, providing solutions to some of the most pressing problems of our time in areas such as communications, education, infrastructure, water resources, energy, sustainability and transport. NICTA is also involved in summer schools, both for students learning about research and for high school students determining their interests in ICT.
Document(s): Education the winner as NICTA and ACS award national ICT student prize
Contact: Dorothy Kennedy
Ph: 02 9376 2098
Email: dorothy<dot>kennedy<at>nicta.com.au
