Empowering young women through STEM education

Aimed at increasing the number of girls entering the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) pipeline and nurturing the next generation of female STEM leaders, Mark Hurley, Bradken’s Executive General Manager Marketing and Technology, says the program aligns perfectly with the Company’s commitment to diversity and inclusion in the workforce.

“Over the past few years, we’ve been focused on bringing greater gender balance to our business,” Mr Hurley said.

“We’re in a tight labour market. It’s difficult, globally, to find talented employees. Bringing more women into STEM and Bradken is crucial to our growth plans because we know diversity of thought, skills and experience is how we build a sustainable business that delivers the best for its customers now and into the future.

“Bradken is proud to continue its support of the HunterWiSE program for a fourth consecutive year, allowing us to showcase our team of talented women working as Metallurgists, Engineers, Product Designers and Digital Technology Specialists and present these young women with a new perspective on their futures and what opportunities lie ahead of them.”

During their visit, the 24 young women rotated across three interactive stations linked through the journey of our Ground Engaging Tool (GET) points from Materials (how we make things and what we make them out of), Design (how we develop and test products) and Digital (technology solutions we offer for wear monitoring and training).

Metallurgist Emily VuDoan, one of the Bradken team members involved in running this year’s activities, said it was fulfilling to share her love of the material sciences with the participants and to do her part to ensure representation in the field for future generations.

“When I was a student and even at the start of my career, I didn’t see many women in engineering and science and that’s why I’m passionate about showing these young women that they have a place in STEM,” Miss VuDoan said.

“What I love most about my role as a Metallurgist is that it’s a great combination of logic and creativity. It’s not as common as some of the other sciences, so the opportunity to be able to share this lesser-known field has been incredible.

“The girls were guided through the casting process which was simulated using kinetic sand and plaster of paris, learnt how different factors can affect final properties and mechanical behaviour, and led through the steps of a root-cause analysis.

“Being a role model for these young female students is one of the most rewarding opportunities I’ve had in my career.”

Run over 10 weeks, the HunterWiSE Schools outreach program provides female Year 8 students, from schools across Australia’s Newcastle and Hunter region, the opportunity to work alongside STEM academics and student mentors from the University of Newcastle and engage with industry sponsors to solve local community issues whilst developing their STEM skills.

Bradken remains committed to supporting programs like HunterWiSE, which empower young women to explore and excel in STEM careers. We look forward to continuing our partnership with this impactful initiative and witnessing the positive changes it brings to the industry.

Click here to learn more about HunterWiSE: https://www.newcastle.edu.au/research/centre/hunterwise