More than 300 high school students from across Queensland and northern New South Wales are workshopping Australia’s most in-demand skills for jobs of the future in Brisbane this week.
The group of Year 11 and 12 students, who were selected from metro and regional schools for their academic potential, are joining industry and academic experts in science, business and creative industries for the annual QUT Future You Summit.
QUT Vice-Chancellor Professor Margaret Sheil said the summit aimed to unlock a future-ready workforce.
Professor Sheil said by providing these high school students with first-hand insight into the most applicable careers for current and future industries the Brisbane university was both supporting their individual career pathways and the community’s wider workforce preparedness.
“Data science and digital communication, robotics, materials science, health care design and delivery have all been identified as some of Australia’s most in-demand fields for future growth, and as these industries continue to change at a rapid pace, it’s imperative that our future workforce is prepared.”
At that summit students will be grouped into different streams based on their interests, with all addressing specific industry needs, like business innovation, AI and leading technologies and creative thinking.
They will hear from leading minds, like Inspired Education Australia CEO Rashan Senanayake, QUT Pro Vice-Chancellor of Entrepreneurship Rowena Barrett and Canberra’s United Nations Information Centre Director Damián Cardona, will share their knowledge, skills and first-hand on-the-job experience with students.
The spotlight will also be on upskilling students from regional areas to support greater opportunities outside of metro areas, which Ms Barrett, said was imperative to ensuring a more diverse entrepreneurial future.
“This year over a quarter of our attending students will hail from regional Queensland and New South Wales. This will really help us showcase the raw opportunity across regional Australia,” Professor Barrett said.
“To be truly innovative, entrepreneurialism needs diversity, and balancing regional and city thinkers is critical to this. We often find that students from remote hometowns are more naturally innovative thinkers, and when they return home as graduates, they can make a real impact in unlocking new possibilities within the region and supporting their direct community.”
Throughout the Summit, students will meet with over 50 experts from a range of disciplines and participate in a variety of interactive sessions, presentations and networking events.
The experts will encourage students to tap into their innovative mindsets over the four-day event, with an Entrepreneurship Bootcamp on the final day of the summit tomorrow (July 5).
