STEM Academy
We want to help your students discover how they can turn their passion for STEM into a career.
Delivered in schools and online, the STEM Academy aims to encourage students to study STEM through a range of interactive workshops, activities and events. Students will develop an understanding of the relationship between high-school STEM subjects, university degrees and how to turn their passion for STEM into a career.
By joining the STEM Academy your students will have access to:
- Interactive workshops and presentations delivered at your school (subject to availability).
- Invitation to exclusive on-campus events and activities.
- Subject selection resources and advice.
- Early offer into a range of University of Adelaide STEM degrees for eligible year 12 students.
Participating students are not required to do any additional work and all on-campus events are held outside of school hours. Activities are offered free of charge unless stated otherwise.
Our selection of exclusive interactive workshops are designed to showcase how an interest in STEM can give you diverse career opportunities. Discover how STEM plays a major part in society and the world we live in.
Book an activity
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AI brainstorm battle
In this workshop students will learn about the ins and outs of artificial intelligence, machine learning and adaptive language models through the use of an interactive activity using ChatGPT. Students will learn the pros and cons of AI/ChatGPT and where it will likely go in the future.
Capacity (min - max): 10 – 30
Year levels: 8 - 10
Duration: 45 min
Study area(s): Computer Science, Coding, -
Animal behaviour
Whether it’s at home or in the workplace, animals are an important part of our lives. They can be trained to behave in certain ways and to perform specific tasks, but how can we effectively train them when they can’t talk back? Delve into the world of animal psychology and discover the complexities of shaping behaviours to achieved desired outcomes.
Capacity (min. & max): 30 max
Year levels: 9 - 11
Duration: 45 min
Study area (s): Psychology, Biology, Veterinary Sciences -
Cranes and cantilevers
In this workshop, students will be provided a brief insight into what’s involved in being a Civil and Structural Engineer. The session will focus on the design and construction of a cantilever crane and will cover a range of topics related to the design, analysis and construction of cranes and cantilever structures. Students will have the opportunity to put their newly built crane through its paces while reviewing the engineering process to adapt and improve their structure.
Capacity (min. & max): 30 max
Year levels: 8-10
Duration: 45 min
Study area (s): Physics, Mathematics, Engineering -
Flavour chemistry: the science behind the taste and smell of food
What is your favourite food or drink smell and does it remind you of anything? To understand what we taste, we first need to know how we taste. In this workshop students will learn what senses to use for descriptive analysis and how we research flavour and aroma on a chemical level.
Capacity (min. & max): 10 min – 25 max
Year levels: 9-11
Duration: 45 min
Study area (s): Chemistry, Food & Nutrition, Agricultural Science, Wine Science -
Learn to code with sphero bots!
Give your students an introduction to the world of coding with our brand new Sphero Mini Kits. Our STEM communicators will guide students through short, fun activities to program the Sphero gyroscopic robots in real time!
Capacity (min. & max): 10 min – 30 max
Year levels: 8 - 10
Duration: 45 - 50 min
Study area (s): Computer Science, Robotics, Engineering -
Medieval mechanics
In this workshop, students will have the opportunity to learn about the mechanics of levers while building their own small catapults. Using simple materials, they will explore the principles of force, motion, and energy transfer as they experiment with different designs and launch projectiles.
Capacity (min. & max): 30 max
Year levels: 8-10
Duration: 45 min
Study area (s): Physics, Engineering, Mathematics -
Mycology and mushroom cultivation
In this workshop, students explore the basic concepts of mycology and mushroom cultivation, including sterilising equipment, pasteurising growth substrate and combining substrate with the mycelial hyphae. Groups will finish with a take-home, ready-to-fruit mushroom spawn block that will produce edible Oyster Mushrooms in 4-6 weeks!
Please note: This activity can only be run at our North Terrace campus.
Capacity (min - max): 16 - 24
Year levels: 10 and above
Duration: 50 min
Study area (s): Biology, Zoology, Microbiology -
Rockets, space travel and the science that makes It possible
Exploring aerospace engineering and space science, this exciting activity gets students hands on, learning about the basic science and engineering principles in rocketry. Putting this knowledge
to the test, students are then challenged to design, build and launch small scale rockets competing for the best design.Capacity (min. & max): 15 min – 30 max
Year levels: 7 - 8
Duration: 45 min
Study area (s): Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry, Space, Engineering -
Zoology and evolutionary biology
This workshop is a unique opportunity for students to learn concepts in the areas of zoology, evolutionary biology and taxonomy, through an interactive, challenging exercise where students will work in small groups and engage with our museum-quality sets of real animal specimens (preserved in resin to allow handling from all angles) to determine their evolutionary relatedness and build their own phylogenetic tree. Prizes on offer for the winning group!
Capacity (min - max): 10 – 30
Year levels: 10 & 11
Duration: 45 - 55 min
Study area(s): Biology, Zoology, Evolutionary Biology, Genetics
Find out more about the best way to get ahead in your STEM study and career journey, with an early conditional offer to a University of Adelaide degree and a suite of other benefits that our STEM Academy Year 12 Program can provide.
Find our more about the STEM Academy early entry program through our frequently asked questions (FAQs) below.
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The degree I want to study is on the list of degrees not included in the early conditional offer program, should I still join STEM Academy?
If you are interested in one of the degrees that is excluded from the early conditional offer program, you would still benefit from joining the STEM Academy to access resources, information and support in your chosen study areas.
Please note that STEM Academy does not cover any University of Adelaide health and medical sciences related degrees.
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What can I do if I want to gain entry into a degree but I don’t meet the subject requirements?
STEM Academy staff can offer advice and support on how to get in to your chosen STEM degree- please contact us on schools@adelaide.edu.au for advice about your specific circumstances.
For example, the Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) - Engineering Pathway is a great option for students wanting to commence studies in engineering who might not meet all subject requirements. Visit degree finder for more information on this pathway.
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When will the early conditional offers be sent?
Early conditional offers will be send out in late August or early September, dates will be confirmed and communicated to those who have registered for the academy.
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Where can I find information about the minimum eligibility criteria for each degree?
Visit degree finder to get information on subject pre-requisites and other minimum eligibility criteria.
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Can I defer my early conditional offer?
No. This can only be used for the following academic year i.e. if you are given an early conditional offer in 2023, this can only be used for Semester 1 2024 entry.