Taylah Martin at APPEA Conference May 2019
Last week, St
John Fisher College Year 12 student, Taylah Martin, attended the Year 10-12 Australian
Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA) Youth Program held at
the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre as part of the international
conference.
Taylah, was amongst
40 STEM students from across Brisbane to be invited to participate in the
program that aims to inspire and educate young people about the variety of
career paths available in the oil and gas industry.
APPEA 2019 delivered a high
school-focused education program to connect with the next generation of
talent that is essential to the success of the industry. The Youth Program
showcased the best of the oil and gas industry, including the
digital revolution that is currently underway.
Selected high school groups
participated in tailored one day workshops and interactive activities with
industry leaders, learned about the many career pathways available to
them, and experienced a guided walk through the busy APPEA Exhibition
Hall.
The
APPEA Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition is the largest annual upstream oil
and gas event in the southern hemisphere, attracting delegates from across the
country and around the world.
St John Fisher College Science
Teacher, Mr David Hooper said; “Taylah has an inquisitive nature which is one
of the key qualities of a good scientist”.
“She has shown keen interest in
Science since Year 8 and now studies both Physics and Chemistry at St John
Fisher College.”
Sarah Browne is Director of
the Brighter program, APPEA’s new community engagement initiative, which
facilitated the program this year. She said; “We were delighted to welcome
Taylah as part of the Youth Program in 2019, along with around 80 other high
school students over the course of two days.”
“We believe
science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) is fundamental to the skill
set of Australia’s future workforce, and we know we need to engage with that
next generation of talent. The natural gas industry is dependent on advanced
technology and is reliant on STEM educated workers - from engineers to
environmental scientists – to manage and operate it.”
“We hope that these bright young students enjoyed being part of our
biggest industry event as much as we enjoyed hearing their perspectives and
fresh ideas.”
The Brighter program collaborated with education providers STEM Punks to
deliver interactive workshops demonstrating how new technology such as virtual
reality and drones are deployed in the field today.