Brisbane Catholic Education (BCE) students are preparing to launch into the future with purpose at this year’s STEM ‘Make A Difference’ (MAD) Showcase on Wednesday, 17 September. This year’s competition will attract 60 schools and nearly 120 student teams, making this year’s showcase the biggest one yet! Adding to the excitement, renowned science communicator Dr Karl Kruszelnicki will headline the event as keynote speaker, guiding students through five emerging career paths and inspiring them to harness their potential to make a meaningful difference in their world.
How our students ‘Make a Difference’
BCE Lead Education Advisor Rochelle Smith said Dr Karl’s keynote was an incredible opportunity for students to learn how science and technology studies can be used as powerful tools to create a better future.
“Dr Karl will inspire our students to see themselves as part of the solution to the world’s emerging issues,” she said.
“Young people with the power to ‘Make a Difference’ through curiosity, courage, and compassion.
“With such a diverse career, Dr Karl is the perfect role model.”
“Dr Karl also shows our students that science can take you anywhere, from hospitals to laboratories, radio studios to lecture halls.”
About STEM MAD
Brisbane Catholic Education has been running STEM MAD since 2021. It equips BCE students with essential skills they will need now and into the future.
“In our rapidly changing world, it’s crucial that young people are encouraged to think creatively, work collaboratively and use technology to solve real-world problems,” Rochelle adds.
“Events like STEM MAD inspire innovation and show students they are in control of their own destiny and have the power to make real world change.”
About Dr Karl Kruzselnicki
Dr Karl Kruszelnicki AM has been spreading the good word of science in print, on TV and radio, and online for more than thirty years. The author of 48 books (and counting), Dr Karl is a lifelong student with degrees in physics and mathematics, biomedical engineering, medicine and surgery. He has worked as a physicist, labourer, roadie for bands, car mechanic, filmmaker, biomedical engineer, taxi driver, TV weatherman, and medical doctor at the Children’s Hospital in Sydney. Since 1995, Dr Karl has been the Julius Sumner Miller Fellow at the University of Sydney.
In 2019, he was awarded the UNESCO Kalinga Prize for the Popularisation of Science, of which previous recipients include Margaret Mead, David Attenborough, Bertrand Russell and David Suzuki. He has also been honoured with a slew of Academic Awards, but one of his most coveted prizes is his TikTok High Quality Content Creator Award in 2024.
Dr Karl's new television show "How Things Work" can be viewed on ABC TV and iView lifts the lid on how some of Australia's best loved products are made, stepping behind factory lines to uncover the intricate workings of some of our most productive manufacturing plants.
Dr Karl is currently developing an AI version of himself, Digital Dr Karl, to fight misinformation online, especially with regard to Climate Change.