Media releases

More than 60 young western Victorian women will gather at Federation University Australia’s Mt Helen campus on Friday morning to celebrate their passion for physics at a breakfast event to encourage more women into careers in traditionally male dominated industries.

Girls from Year 10 to 12 will sit with local women in the early stages of a career in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEMinists). The students are from ten secondary schools throughout the region. 

The Girls in Physics Breakfast is jointly coordinated by Federation University’s School of Science, Engineering and Information Technology and the VicPhysics Teachers’ Network.

The morning will give students and the STEMinist mentors a chance to explore career options, university life and working in STEM in regional Australia.

Attendees will include Federation University staff and local organisations which provide research and manufacturing services in industries as diverse as health, transport, construction, telecommunications, teaching, food processing, mining and mechanical systems.

The breakfast also includes an address by Ballarat-educated Hilary Wilson from the Bureau of Meteorology who will speak about how she and other meteorologists use physics in ‘Reading the Atmosphere’ to predict the weather.

The Girls in Physics Breakfast will be held from 7:30am to 10:00am on Friday, 13 March, at the Studio Theatre, Caro Convention Centre, Mt Helen campus, Federation University (Building M).

Quotes attributable to Federation Schools Engagement Officer Stephanie Davison

“We are very pleased to have Hilary as guest speaker – she grew up and went to school in Ballarat and was so inspired by our ever-changing weather that she ended up studying science and becoming a meteorologist.”

“Her story illustrates perfectly to the girls that an exciting career in STEM is possible for girls from rural communities and that sometimes that path isn’t immediately obvious or straightforward.”

Quotes attributable to VicPhysics’ Dan O’Keeffe

“The Ballarat breakfast is one of a series of six across Melbourne and regional Victoria this year and follows from the successful events of 2018 and 2019.” 

“We are thrilled at the level of interest shown by schools in Ballarat and western Victoria and by the enthusiasm and support shown by the young women working in sciences, engineering and information technology who are attending as mentors.”