Last week, QUT hosted 160 local and regional Queensland year 11 students at the annual QUT Vice-Chancellor’s STEM Camp. Professor Mia Woodruff was the academic lead of the “Biofabrication – Hospital of the Future” project which took 16 students through a week long workshop on how to design a personalised implant using 3D scanning, 3D modelling and 3D printing. PhD student Maureen Ross was the lead student ambassador supported by research assistant Max MacLaughlin and Mackenzi Oliver, a graduate of the 2015 Biofabrication STEM Camp project and now second-year medical engineering student and STEM Student Ambassador at QUT. The theme of the week was “my STEM story” and we began the week with sharing Maureen, Max and Mackenzi’s STEM stories to open the door to university life and what’s beyond.
The ambassadors called on the help of the other Biofabrication and Tissue Morphology group members to showcase some of the developments in biofabrication. During the week the students got to hear from PhD student Rena Cruz on her novel methods of automatic 3D modelling of ear prostheses. On Wednesday the students and ambassadors travelled to the Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation (IHBI) at QUT’s Kelvin Grove campus so they could see what happens to the implants they designed after they have been printed from biomaterials. Dr Cynthia Wong showed them how cells are cultured, Max showed them fluorescent imaging under the microscope, Trent Brooks-Richards took them through the process of histology and Dr Mark Allenby brought in the fun of mathematics and how it can be applied to image analysis of cells and tissue.
The team had a wonderful week engaging and inspiring with the intelligent and passionate students of the 2018 QUT VC STEM Camp and hope that the week has inspired them to continue their STEM story past high school.
Congratulations to all those who were selected for this year QUT VC STEM camp, as well as the organisers and sponsors of the event. If you (or someone you know) are in year 10 and interested in attending next year’s camp please, keep an eye out on the STEM for schools page for updates. Applications are expected to open in April 2019.