We Own the Future: Tech Week 2023

Tech Week 2023

In Week 4, Mount Alvernia College held its first ever Tech Week. The schedule contained many opportunities for students to be engaged in a variety of activities that explored the use of technology. These included the chance to race drones, make wearable tech, create objects using 3D printers, discuss Artificial Intelligence, use augmented reality to complete a scavenger hunt, and crack codes to break out of an Escape Room. Students showing high potential in Design and Technology subjects also had the chance to discover first-hand what it is like to work in the tech industry when they talked and listened to Google Executive, Cherie Davis at our Tech Breakfast.

The philosophy behind Tech Week was to make this sector front and centre of college activities so that students can experience new technologies and innovations and consider this industry as a future pathway. In the March 2023 quarterly Labour Market Update report from Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA) the list of new data on the top 20 occupations in demand nationally shows that Software and Applications Programmers, ICT Business and Systems Analysts, and Database and Systems Administrators, & ICT Security Specialists are among the most sought after qualifications in Australia today (O’Connor, 2023). Yet, data also shows that despite national conversations about gender diversity in tech, women are still underrepresented, underpaid, and often discriminated against in the tech industry (CIO Executive Network, 2023). Opportunities like Tech Week aim to empower students to have fun with technology and think about possibilities for their own lives.

Overall, as indicated in the photos, a lot of fun was had, and we’ve already started thinking of ideas for next year. If there are any parents reading this report who are in the tech industry or have contacts in this field and have ideas that you think could contribute to this experience in the future, we’d love to hear from you.

References

O’Connor, B. (2023, March 4). New data on top 20 occupations in demand. Australian Government Minister of the Employment and Workplace Relations Portfolio. https://ministers.dewr.gov.au/oconnor/new-data-top-20-occupations-demand

White, S. (2023, March 8). Women in tech statistics: The hard truths of an uphill battle. CIO. https://www.cio.com/article/201905/women-in-tech-statistics-the-hard-truths-of-an-uphill-battle.html