The STEMM Challenge 2022

Potential to study or work in Croatia!

Are you of Croatian heritage and between 15 and 21 years old? Join the Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths and Medicine – STEMM CHALLENGE 2022, build connections with accomplished academics and work on real business problems. The STEMM Challenge connects Australia and Croatia and has been initiated by the Victorian Croatian Chamber of Commerce in Australia together with the Croatian Central State Office for Croats Abroad and Croatian universities, businesses, and academics.

​Learn more!

About the Challenge

Through collaboration and promotion, this program will:

• expose and inspire the future leaders of Croatian heritage with Croatia’s successful scientists, inventors and academics, providing an opportunity to change the world one day   
• teach the younger generation about the heritage of Croatian’s extraordinary STEMM minds
• celebrate and promote Croatian successes and influence in the world 

Why? 

The gap between the knowledge generated in the education system and the 21st-century skills demanded by employers and individuals is widening. 

Overcoming these limitations requires a priority focus on developing workplace skills in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine (STEMM), in conjunction with critical thinking, creativity, cultural awareness, collaboration and problem-solving.

The gain

You will work in a small group with academics in a competition to apply forward thinking and innovation to existing challenges with real businesses.

The group will be challenged to research and present solutions for a panel to judge. The program will seek to educate students and promote successful Croatian STEMM stories throughout the competition. 

The final presentations will be formally showcased to a judging panel of professors and business leaders and held as an exhibition to celebrate our Croatian heritage and successful STEMM recognition.

Meet your mentors! 

Frances Separovic has been awarded Officer of the Order of Australia (AO), is a biophysical chemist, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Chemistry, Deputy Director of the Bio21 Institute and former Head of the School of Chemistry at the University of Melbourne, where she taught physics, chemistry and graduate students in her field.

Ivan Marusic is an ARC Laureate Fellow and a Redmond Barry Distinguished Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Melbourne. He received his PhD in 1992 and BE (Hons) Mech in 1987 from the University of Melbourne. His research is primarily in experimental and theoretical studies of turbulence at high Reynolds numbers, and this includes studies in atmospheric surface layer flows and aquatic ecosystems. Distinguished Professor Ivan Marusic FTSE FAA was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering in 2021.