Andrew Willcox (Dawson, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to celebrate the incredibly talented young minds that I met in the 2024 Whitsunday STEM Challenge. Now in its seventh year, I was blown away by the hundreds of regional primary and high school students from the Mackay, Whitsunday and Isaac regions that come together to showcase their science, technology, engineering and maths skills.

The Whitsunday STEM Challenge builds students' critical thinking skills and encourages them to solve complex problems and collaborate in teams, all while participating in competitions, including F1 in Schools, Pedal Prix Super Series, RoboCup Junior and drone competitions. Students work in teams to design, build and code their robots to compete in various competitions, including soccer, drone-rescue operations, choreographed dance competitions and even darts. The F1 in Schools competition is the world's largest STEM competition, and is a test of speed and innovation for students.

I got the chance to chat with and compete against the national champions in the F1 in Schools competition, and I must say that I didn't stand a chance. I'm always blown away by the innovative young minds that I meet when I go to these competitions. I can tell you this: our future looks bright with these kids at the helm.