RDA Hunter has announced that it will partner with General Electric (GE) to expand its Mini ME Program in 2016.
GE will join RDA Hunter’s Mini ME Program to support two schools in the Singleton area by providing equipment and mentoring to encourage students to study science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) early in their education.
GE has also assisted in developing a new video for the ME Program’s STEM Toolkit. Featuring Thomas MacConaghey, Production Engineer for GE Mining, the video demonstrates how STEM is applied in the workplace as well as real-life problems for students to solve using STEM knowledge. The video adds to the ME Program’s library of teacher resources known as the STEM Toolkit.
Last week a formal announcement of the partnership was made by GE Australia and New Zealand’s Chief Information Officer, Mark Sheppard, at Singleton Heights Primary School.
During the event, which was attended by GE leaders as well as Singleton Heights students, staff and parents, the school’s students participated in a hands-on demonstration of the Lego EV3 equipment GE is providing.
“We are delighted to partner with GE, one of the world’s most innovative companies, to expand our Mini ME Program and bring STEM education to more students,” RDA Hunter CEO, Todd Williams, said.
“GE is a prime example of a global company that continues to innovate by employing a STEM workforce. RDA Hunter is working to build a skilled and STEM qualified workforce for the Hunter’s future through our ME and Mini ME Programs.”
“Mini ME is an adaptation of our hugely successful ME Program and aims to spark an interest in STEM subjects in primary school children. Commencing STEM in early childhood has been proven to improve STEM participation in senior school and lead to STEM careers,” Todd concluded.
“GE is a company that values and relies on people with advanced STEM skills to drive innovation. As we continue our transformation to become a world leading digital industrial company, this skill is becoming more and more important,” GE’s Mark Sheppard said.
“We’re delighted that this partnership will continue to build on the success of the ME Program and provide resources to help students understand that what they are learning can help solve real challenges.”
