In the lead-up to International Women’s Day the NSW Surveying Taskforce honoured the hashtag #BalanceforBetter with a unique STEM learning opportunity for NSW schoolgirls in Hyde Park on Wednesday, March 6.
More than 50 Year 10 to 12 students from around the state, including students from Blakehurst High School, took part in a ‘mini-Olympics’ of surveying activities throughout the park mentored by qualified surveyors using the latest technology.
They also went on a tour ofthe Anzac Memorial, particularly the Soil Collection Project unveiled last year, and learn about the role of surveyors from people already in the field and at different stages of their careers.
NSW Surveyor General Narelle Underwood, the first female to hold the top role in the industry and a major advocate for STEM learning, addressed the students and announced the winner of the 2018 Surveyor General’s International Fellowship.
Governor of NSW, David Hurley, and Mrs Linda Hurley, also attended the morning activities at the War Memorial.
The Governor is the Patron of the Institution of Surveyors NSW and a supporter of youth engagement, inclusion and diversity.
NSW Consulting Surveyors CEO, Michelle Blicavs, said the Women in Surveying event gave young women an opportunity to learn hands-on about the different roles and opportunities available in surveying.
‘‘Surveying has traditionally been a male-dominated field yet it is a role that women can and do excel at,’’ she said.
‘‘There is currently a severe shortage of surveyors in NSW that is set to grow exponentially unless we can encourage young people, and women in particular, into the field.
‘‘An event like this which shows STEM learning at its most engaging and allows students to learn about the career from the people on the ground is invaluable.’’
NSW Surveyor General Narelle Underwood is a strong advocate of the need to engage children with mathematics from their early education and says the true value of mathematics doesn’t come into play until it is used in practical situations.
‘‘As surveyors we take all of the theory learned in the classroom and put it into effect creating communities, building infrastructure and making sense of data,’’ she said. ‘‘You can work in the office or out in the field and the work is varied but it is up to us to show the next generation what our role is about and excite them about future prospects.’’
