Young women at St Clare’s College have mastered soldering, engineering skills and programming to improve the safety of traffic controllers, winning first place at the Australian Information Industry Association iAwards.

Women in STEM is alive and well in Canberra. The students’ project, which took out the Student and Education Solution category, was created as a prototype to illuminate handheld signs used by traffic controllers in a bid to lower accidents and prevent fatalities on roads. 

Every week, the students (in the school’s the SWITCH Robotics Club) met to use data to drive their project. The students researched the prevalence of road crashes, fatalities and injuries caused at night and in poorly lit areas. Using this data, they decided on a problem that they could solve with technology.

The team took their idea through several iterations, seeking feedback by entering the prototype in other STEM challenges to refine their idea as something that could be produced in industry. The students took advantage of the school’s newly-opened Maker Space and learnt how to use the tools and equipment at the College.

Remarkably, this was the St Clare’s students’ first attempt at entering the iAwards. They were selected as finalists out of 220 entries and then narrowed down to two submissions in the Student and Education category. The students will travel to Adelaide in August to represent the ACT.  

Industry professionals told the College that at every event, there was a need for more women in IT. The support shown to the students at the AIIA event encourages young women to consider careers in technology as they solve real world problems and learn skills they can use in future careers.  

The SWITCH Team receives support through the Canberra Southern Cross Club Community Rewards Program.

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