Australian Science Olympiads Scholar School Final Dinner
24 January 2008, John Curtin School of Medical Research, Australian National University
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Firstly, let me thank Dr Chris Stewart and Peter Russo of Australian Science Innovations for inviting me to be here with you this evening. It is also a pleasure to see Professors Aidan Byrne and Kiaran Kirk from the ANU.
Two groups here deserve congratulations – the students who have gone through an exhaustive selection process to win a place at the training school, and the volunteers whose tireless work makes our involvement in the Science Olympiads possible. Well done.
The young people assembled here are among our best and brightest. Your presence here is testament to your commitment and your creativity.
Creativity is what drives innovation, and innovation is increasingly what underpins our prosperity and our social wellbeing.
You are a rare breed. The number of Year 12 students doing science, mathematics and technology subjects has been declining for decades.
In the 1960s two out of five Victorian sixth-formers and three out five Queensland sixth-formers studied physics and chemistry.
Today, fewer than one in five Australian Year 12s do these subjects.
We have to turn things around. Our future in a high-tech world depends on it.
That’s why you are so precious to us.
There are all sorts of ways to serve the community and help make Australia a better place. You might be an artist, or an entrepreneur, or a social worker, or a soldier, or a trade unionist.
But the best way this group can help Australia is by sticking to your science.
People talk a lot about how new technologies are revolutionising our economy, making it stronger, more dynamic, more prosperous. That’s vitally important, but it isn’t the whole story.
Innovation in all fields – including science and technology – has the capacity to enrich people’s lives. It offers us new ways to meet human needs and fulfil human aspirations.
Creating a culture of innovation will give us not only a stronger economy, but a more equitable society.
You are in an ideal position to help us build that culture, and if you are ready for the challenge, we will support you all the way.
The federal government already funds the Australian Science Olympiads Program, but that’s just the start.
We are aiming to bring about a revival in maths and science by:
- halving HECS fees for new maths and science students from 2009;
- halving annual HECS repayments for up to five years when graduates take up work in science-related occupations, including teaching;
- doubling the number of Commonwealth Scholarships for undergraduates and Australian Postgraduate Awards for masters and PhD students;
- supporting research through the Australian Research Council, Cooperative Research Centres and a reinvigorated CSIRO; and
- introducing a new Future Fellowships Program to buy our top mid-career researchers the time and resources they need to develop new projects.
We want you to build a career in science and we want you do it in Australia, where it will most benefit your own community.
Your time here at the ANU has given you a glimpse of the rich rewards a scientific career can offer.
Those rewards include the real possibility of making an enduring contribution to humankind.
Good luck at the Science Olympiads – they will be a great place to start.