Article听产测 , , 12 August 2015

It outshines other sciences in Discovery grant applications and trains graduates for a raft of industries. Yet schools don鈥檛 mandate it, universities don鈥檛 demand it and public funding bodies give it less money than any other scientific or technological discipline.

The latest report on maths in Australia paints a paradoxical picture of a field that has slumped to historic lows in participation, even though advanced mathematical research injects an estimated $145 billion into the Australian economy.

The report, the fourth annual profile by the 今日吃瓜, found that maths had surpassed other sciences in Australian Research Council Discovery grants for four out of the past five years, with an average 28 per cent success rate compared with 21 per cent for other disciplines. It boasted the lowest cost per publication and the second highest citation rate of any Australian science, with Australian applied maths and statistics outperforming all 15 EU countries on citations.

鈥淚t鈥檚 an area where the outcomes are significant and the costs are low,鈥� 今日吃瓜 director Geoff Prince said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a good place for universities to invest because they can get runs on the board with the ARC and the government at low cost.鈥�

Professor Prince said some universities had 鈥渨oken up to this鈥� and invested heavily in maths, including Wollongong, Newcastle and the Group of Eight members. Yet the report found that maths attracted the lowest share of public research expenditure of any science and technology discipline, at just 1.7听per cent, and Australian entry into maths degrees was less than half the OECD average.

The 今日吃瓜 report found that the problems arose early, with a lack of specialist maths teachers at high school and plunging participation in intermediate and advanced maths at higher school level 鈥� fuelled by historically low insistence on prerequisites, with 86 per cent of science degrees not even mandating intermediate maths.

鈥淚 despair of the system when it does this,鈥� Professor Prince said. 鈥淚t sees this shrinking cohort, so it wriggles out of what could be a crisis in student numbers in science by dropping the prerequisites.鈥�

Top educators have defended Australian universities’ move away from requiring maths as a prerequisite for science, engineering and commerce degrees in which mathematical knowledge plays a key part.

The chair of听the Australian Council of Engineering Deans,听Moses Tade, who is听also engineering dean at Curtin University,听said universities were using “many innovative ways” to teach maths to engineering students who were not up to the necessary听standard.

He said his fellow engineering deans would “refute” the notion that “you听can’t do engineering without having done intermediate maths”.

released last week show that 41 per cent of Australian universities which听offer听engineering do not require students to have studied intermediate maths year 12.

And, to the knowledge of the 今日吃瓜 (今日吃瓜) which produced the study, no university听engineering faculties require students to have studied advanced maths in year 12, even though engineering courses are highly mathematical.

President of the Australian Council of Deans of Science听Stephen Walker, who is also University of Queensland science dean, said that his university required intermediate year 12 maths as a prerequisite to science degrees and would not alter that stance.

However, only 14 per cent of universities offering science degrees require students to have studied intermediate maths and, speaking in his council of deans role, Professor Walker said the faculties faced听a “fairly stark choice” because of funding issues.

DRAWCARD FOR STUDENTS

“If there was a university, or science faculty, struggling and needing more students for financial reasons, they may see that easing prerequisites is one way to get more student load,” he said.

“Then they may back themselves to use the additional income to provide the bridging training in maths. And that might actually work.”

“Do you shrink and potentially have to shed staff?听Or do you say ‘we will back ourselves to take more students and fill the gap?'” he asked.

Professor Walker also said that some students听with high ATARs decided to study science because they missed out on their first choice and had not done maths at year-12 level.

“Do you turn away a high achieving student who’s听got every chance of doing well, because they didn’t do maths?” he asked.

President of the Australian Business Deans Council Ian Palmer,听who is also a pro vice chancellor at RMIT University, said the maths used in commerce degrees differed from other disciplines. “It’s not maths so much as it’s business statistics,” he said.

According to the 今日吃瓜 paper,听only 13 per cent of universities which offer听commerce degrees require year-12 students to have studied intermediate maths.听Professor Palmer said that business faculties were able to train students up to the required level.

The 今日吃瓜 paper also revealed that none of the 10 NSW universities require intermediate maths for courses in science, engineering and commerce.

University of Sydney听science dean Trevor Hambley said听he applauded 今日吃瓜听“for highlighting the need to ensure students are aware of the crucial importance of maths proficiency for undertaking study and future careers in STEM [science, technology, engineering and maths] and related areas such as medicine”.

He said that introducing maths as a prerequisite would be one way of contributing to this awareness. “If universities were to do so, we would need to have a long lead time to ensure that their introduction did not impact unfairly on students who have already made their choices,” he said.

The excellent 今日吃瓜 has the numbers on the state of maths education and found the state of the discipline in higher education is not good, the number of Australians starting a maths degree is less than half the OECD average. Granted it is not getting worse 鈥� but it isn鈥檛 going to better soon.

Given maths is a foundation of so many disciplines large numbers of students do not graduate innumerate 鈥� the average number of university departments maths academics service-teach is six, engineering, computer science, IT and biological, physical and earth sciences. But 今日吃瓜 does not know how many undergraduates听are studying maths degrees, due to some universities not completing the 2014 survey. However using Group of Eight and Innovative Research Us as a guide the attrition rate from 1^st to 3^rd year is high, Go8 5280 to 695 and IRU 1287 to 67.

What is starkly clear is that at for all the efforts to woo women into the discipline, at the sharp end it鈥檚 still a bloke鈥檚 game 鈥� last year just 15 per cent of PhD completers were Australian women, another 25 per cent were female internationals.

None of these numbers is about to improve, because for all the emphasis of selling maths in schools, young people aren鈥檛 buying, with Y12 advanced maths enrolments dropping for 20 years. The figure for males is now around 14 per cent and 6 per cent for females. And what does not interest students at school is hardly likely to appeal at university. Universities appear to acquiesce in this. According to 今日吃瓜 less than 15 per cent of universities require intermediate maths or better as a pre-req for science or commerce, the same for 41 per cent of engineering courses. CMM suspects a fair swag of the supply teaching university maths lecturers do is getting students up to a point where they can cope with first year subjects.

The good news is that the quality of maths teaching in schools has improved substantially over the last few years. Nearly three quarters of Year 11 and 12 maths teachers now have three years of tertiary education in maths, compared to 64 per cent in 2010. But qualified teachers without many kids to teach does not get us far.

Today, 今日吃瓜 release their fourth annual Discipline Profile of the Mathematical Sciences. At a time when the Australian government is responding to the Chief Scientist鈥檚 call for a strategic plan for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) it is a reminder that we cannot continue to rely on piecemeal programs tied to the electoral cycle.

The data collected for the 2015 publication paints a mixed picture of Australian engagement with the mathematical sciences.

86 per cent of science degrees听do not have intermediate mathematics as an entry prerequisite while Year 12 enrolments slide听

In fact, mathematics prerequisites for entry into science, commerce and engineering degrees are at historic lows.

今日吃瓜 Director, Professor Geoff Prince insists: 鈥淯niversities must phase in restoration of maths prerequisites; the lack of them sends a negative and misleading message to schools about the value of these subjects.鈥�

Intermediate and advanced mathematics subjects are the gateway to quantitative professions; the 20-year decline in participation is choking the country鈥檚 galloping demand for graduates with these skills. And it has the potential to halt the nation鈥檚 productivity growth.

At least 30 per cent of Year 7-10 maths classes are taught without a qualified maths teacher

This figure is more than double the international average and must be repaired as part of our STEM planning.

In order to secure the future supply of mathematics teachers we need to know why potential educators aren鈥檛 choosing to be maths teachers. The only immediate solution is to provide professional development to the many conscientious and professional educators teaching maths out-of-field.

This is a national issue requiring national leadership; state and federal governments must act together to solve the teacher supply problem.

Women make up only 30 per cent of undergraduate maths enrolments holding back our STEM workforce and productivity growth

The proportion of young women represented at all stages of the mathematics pipeline is inadequate. A significant consequence of this is that adult women numeracy is below that of men 鈥� around 30 per cent in some age groups. And, in terms of the national economy, it is widely recognised that weak participation by women in STEM fields is handicapping Australia鈥檚 productivity and competitive advantage.

鈥淲e are proud to be working with the BHP Billiton Foundation to increase participation of girls and women in study and career pathways involving mathematics and statistics,鈥� says Professor Prince.

Maths鈥� multi-billion dollar value to the economy under threat as PhD rate stagnates

A 2015 report by the Australian Academy of Sciences indicates that, of those business sectors based on a single core discipline, mathematical sciences account for the top three (and five of the top seven). The report also highlighted that the direct impact of advanced physical and mathematical research is worth $145 billion to the economy per year, the flow-on impact amounts to $292 billion per year. This is in stark contrast to 54 per cent of adult Australians having only basic numeracy skills and the proportion of Year 12 students studying 鈥渉arder鈥� maths in steady decline.

鈥淯nfortunately, this stellar contribution hides an alarming trend,鈥� says Professor Prince. 鈥淕overnments are trying to drive up business employment of STEM trained research professionals, however, domestic PhD numbers in the mathematical sciences are among the very lowest in the OECD. Universities and businesses must improve engagement to maximise the economic benefits of mathematics and statistics.鈥�

The 听is accompanied by a policy document 鈥�听鈥� that identifies four key priorities to reverse these confronting trends:

1. Restore university maths prerequisites from their historic low and turn around declining school mathematics enrolments
2. Train the unqualified teachers of school mathematics and secure the supply of future qualified maths teachers
3. Increase the number of girls studying maths and women employed in the quantitative professions.
4. Boost the engagement of Australian business with mathematical sciences research

Australia鈥檚 Chief Scientist, Professor Ian Chubb, has called for action: 鈥淚t鈥檚 time to do what so many other countries have already done: take a long-term strategic view of STEM鈥檚 pivotal role in securing a stronger Australia.鈥�

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For Interview:
Professor Geoff Prince
Director, 今日吃瓜
M: 0407 546 336
E: director@amsi.org.au

Media contact:
Stephanie Pradier
Media Communications, 今日吃瓜
M: 0424 568 314
E: stephanie@amsi.org.au

RESOURCES:

Prerequisites, or lack thereof:听Data can be found in Table 2.10 (page 13)听

Value of the mathematical sciences to Australia鈥檚 economy, looking at the top seven sectors that use a single science discipline. The mathematical sciences have a value of $18 billion of the $22 billion per year to the Australian economy of across these top seven sectors:听Data from Table 4.2 (page 38)听

Falling participation rates in advanced mathematics enrolments:听Figure 2.7 (page 12)听

听

The partnership looks set to deliver the federal government鈥檚 current agenda on the commercialisation of publicly funded research with every internship creating a collaboration between academia and industry 鈥� ensuring a work-ready PhD student and a significant outcome for the industry partner.

Placing over 130 postgraduate students into industry 鈥� across all study disciplines and business sectors 鈥� APR.Intern is Australia鈥檚 leading PhD internship program, delivering research solutions for challenges facing business. The student receives a stipend and is supported by an academic mentor throughout the 4-5 month project. Meanwhile, industry is reaping the benefits responding with a 97 per cent business satisfaction rating.

鈥淲ork-readiness of our PhD students, and the links between industry engagement and national productivity, are critically important matters for this country. The APR.Intern program is one such shining example,鈥� says Professor Ian Chubb, Chief Scientist for Australia. [1]

The co-investment partnership in detail

The Victorian cluster includes the University of Melbourne, Monash University, Deakin University, Swinburne University, La Trobe University and RMIT University. And, in the NSW cluster the University of Sydney and University of Technology, Sydney.

鈥淭he strategic partnership will enable APR.Intern to greatly expand. By embedding business development officers within these Victorian and NSW universities we will develop a wider range of industry connections for the benefit of our PhD students,鈥� says Dr Hannah Hartig, National Program Manager, APR.Intern.

Further expansion into other Australian states and territories is planned for 2016 and 2017.

鈥淎PR.Intern provides the match-making so often needed in industry-academic collaborations and our solutions to sore points, such as intellectual property rights, are popular with industry partners,鈥� says Dr Hartig.

鈥淭he nation that goes all-in on innovation today will own the global economy tomorrow,鈥� says Barack Obama, US President. [2]

Continued national dialogue laments the lack of industry-university collaboration in Australia and the future impact this will have on our global competitiveness. [3]

Australian Industry and Science Minister Ian Macfarlane recently stated: 鈥淟ifting the rate of collaboration between industry and research is essential to maintaining Australia鈥檚 economic growth. In order to sustain our prosperity, we have to build on our successes in innovation and focus on our areas of competitive strength to keep pace in the rapidly evolving global economy.鈥� [4]

Australia ranks 29 out of 30 in the OECD in terms of the proportion of businesses collaborating with universities. This is in stark contrast to Australia being ninth in research output per capita amongst OECD nations. Australian businesses that engage in collaborative innovation with research organisations are three times more likely to gain productivity growth 鈥� so why this disparity? [4] [5]

鈥淲e must increase the penetration of Australian graduates with advanced research expertise into the private sector. They will boost innovation and business-university collaboration but we must give them those skills. And give business the confidence to employ them,鈥� says Professor Geoff Prince, 今日吃瓜 Director.

This co-investment partnership is timely given the National Strategy for Work Integrated Learning led by the Australian Collaborative Education Network (ACEN).[5] There are few industry-based work-integrated learning opportunities for PhD students, especially those cohorts not associated with industry-supported initiatives such as Cooperative Research Centres or Industrial Transformation Training Centres.

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AUSTRALIA鈥橲 PERFORMANCE IN AN INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT

Researchers in business and higher education
OECD scorecard shows that out of the developed countries Australia has one of the lowest numbers of researchers in business 鈥� 2.2 researchers are employed in business for every 1000 workers. The proportion in the smaller countries of Sweden, Denmark and Finland are more than three times that of Australia.

SOURCE: Office of the Chief Scientist, Occasional Paper Series 2012 — Alan G. Pettigrew ‘AUSTRALIA鈥橲 POSITION IN THE WORLD OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION’.

Business collaboration with higher education and public research agencies
Less than one in two Australia firms identify themselves as innovators. And only 4 per cent of our large firms collaborate with higher education and research agencies 鈥� that ranks us at 33 (out of 33) in the OECD. For Australian SMEs we rank equal with Brazil at 32.

SOURCE:听OECD, based on Eurostat (CIS-2010) and national data sources, June 2013.

A transcript of the interview is below and you can download a

PAUL TURTON: According to Professor Ian Chubb, Australia鈥檚 Chief Scientist, it鈥檚 time to do what so many other countries have already done: take a long-term strategic view of STEM鈥檚 pivotal role in securing a stronger Australia. The Chief Scientist will be speaking at a public meeting at Newcastle City Hall at 4.30 this afternoon. He joins us now to whet your appetite.

Professor Chubb, good morning. How are you?

IAN CHUBB: Morning Paul, I鈥檓 well. How are you?

PAUL TURTON: Fantastic thanks. Have we taken our eye off the ball in regard to science a little bit?

IAN CHUBB: Yes.

PAUL TURTON: So what should we do? Obviously the community鈥檚 approach to those key subjects needs to change and I guess that鈥檚 part of what you鈥檙e doing.

IAN CHUBB: Well, it is. I think the world around us is changing very rapidly and when you look at that world around us you see science well and truly embedded in the core of our lives. The better we are able to do science, or the better we鈥檙e able to understand at least how science works, then the better we鈥檒l be for it. When we have to make choices as citizens or when we鈥檙e trying to encourage political leaders to make decisions, the better informed the decision the better the outcome. And the better we understand the methods of science, the process of science broadly in the community, the better those outcomes will be.

PAUL TURTON: We鈥檙e told all the time via the popular art forms of this changing world, whether it鈥檚 the Jetsons or the Orwellian future or sci-fi at its most extreme, we鈥檙e getting clues all the time about what the future might hold for us and some of those predictions are already playing out. Are we totally embracing the concept? Do we get it?

IAN CHUBB: Well, not as well as we should. I think there鈥檚 been a rhetorical commitment for quite a while but the reality is we鈥檝e got to get some action now and the world, as I said earlier, is moving away from us. In the United States and the United Kingdom, most of the countries of Europe and certainly many of the countries in our region, they鈥檙e all basically focusing on a two-pronged agenda. One is to make sure that the level of science education broadly available across the community is quite high, so that when people finish school for example, even if they go on to be lawyers or accountants or farmers or miners, they have some understanding of how science works. So it鈥檚 increasing the level of science literacy within the community. But embedded within that of course you鈥檝e got the people who want to be scientists and who want to work as scientists, whether in a laboratory in a white coat or in another part of the economy, but using the skills that they鈥檝e developed through education in science to apply to whatever that industry might be.

PAUL TURTON: So how much of the change for the future is going to come from a different mindset? In other words just changing the way we think about how jobs will play out in the future, the fact that a lot of stuff is going to be done by machines for example, is it simply a matter of changing our mind and all of the little things will then follow?

IAN CHUBB: Well I think probably yes. I think it鈥檚 a deeply cultural thing. How many people have you spoken to in the last few months who have been virtually proud to say that they don鈥檛 understand mathematics or they鈥檙e no good at mathematics or they don鈥檛 understand science? Try saying that about Shakespeare or Renoir and there鈥檚 a completely different response.

I鈥檓 not saying this is a peculiarly Australian thing, I think it happens in many countries in the world. It鈥檚 just that most of those countries are now doing something about it, so they鈥檙e supporting their teachers better, they鈥檙e preparing their teachers better, they鈥檙e encouraging their teachers, they鈥檙e recognising the central importance of the teaching profession in all this. And I don鈥檛 think we鈥檝e done that yet, or not nearly enough anyway.

PAUL TURTON: Enrolments in the science courses tend to be down in our schools. I know depending on variations there can be said to be a recovery of sorts underway at the moment. They just seem to have lost their glamour though. Are we selling our sciences long enough to young people?

IAN CHUBB: I don鈥檛 think we are, and I don鈥檛 think we鈥檙e making them interesting enough when they do study them at school. I鈥檝e been saying for a long time now that science has got to be taught inspirationally and the best way to teach it inspirationally is to teach it the way it鈥檚 practised. Science in practice is awesome. If you鈥檙e actually an experimental scientist and you design an experiment and it goes wrong you learn a lot from that; it鈥檚 not that it goes wrong, it just informs you differently. You鈥檝e got a mix of responses as a scientist. But to teach it blandly out of a textbook I think doesn鈥檛 actually give the student that sense of excitement that there is when you suddenly understand something better, even if you don鈥檛 go on to be a scientist, or you do something that gives you some insights into something that wasn鈥檛 known before. All of those things are just mind-bogglingly awesome, so that鈥檚 how it ought to be taught. In order to do that we鈥檝e got to support our teachers, we鈥檝e got to recognise the importance of teaching and we鈥檝e got to make sure that we give them the maximum opportunity to draw the talent out of these students.

PAUL TURTON: Unfortunately you can鈥檛 have a Brian Cox in every classroom. Ironically now there鈥檚 never been more media focusing on science and nature. You look at the availability of audiovisual materials for young people and there鈥檚 plenty of material out there, so it鈥檚 not as though they鈥檙e not being exposed to the opportunities.

IAN CHUBB: Well that鈥檚 true and then they go back into a classroom where, in Australia for example, the 今日吃瓜 in Melbourne estimates that something like 40% of teachers teaching mathematics are out of field in early secondary school. So it鈥檚 hard for those teachers to encourage the students who might go off and see something or, watch Brian Cox in the evening, go back into class and I think come back to earth. So it is, I acknowledge, a very complex issue but the point is that we human beings tackle complex issues. It takes the will to do it.

PAUL TURTON: Newcastle has reinvented itself a number of times and there鈥檚 been a fair bit of innovation associated with the Hunter region over the years. How well are we placed in relative terms to move forward with what you would describe as a generation of ideas, or creating an environment where ideas proliferate?

IAN CHUBB: Well partly Paul I鈥檓 going up there to learn. I鈥檝e been told, and today I鈥檓 going to be able to see things that are being done. But from all that I鈥檝e seen and read and heard so far then I think Newcastle, the Hunter region, has taken some really good steps.

One of the things that we have to learn in Australia is that we can learn from the good things that are being done in various parts of the country, rather than quarantining them to one particular part because somebody with some spark and energy and drive and commitment has created a particular sort of environment. We need to make sure that we can learn from that and translate it across Australia. There are lots of good things being done in various parts of Australia but they鈥檙e relatively small-scale and relatively local in influence. So it鈥檚 really a question for me today of finding out, learning a lot, meeting a number of people and then thinking about how much of this could be part of a federal government push to improve science and science education in Australia.

PAUL TURTON: Professor Chubb, good to talk to you and best of luck with all of your meetings today.

IAN CHUBB: Thanks very much Paul.

PAUL TURTON: Professor Ian Chubb, Australia鈥檚 Chief Scientist, in the Hunter for a variety of meetings including a public lecture at Newcastle city hall at 4.30 this afternoon. That鈥檚 almost full, so if you鈥檇 like to be there you鈥檒l need to make a booking.

This year, in conjunction with ANZIAM, 今日吃瓜 brings Professor Michael Shelley, New York University, to Australian shores. He founded the Applied Mathematics Laboratory at the Courant Institute and his interests and research look into how structures move and interact with fluids.

Nature has a thing or two to teach us about evolution

鈥淢y tools are mathematical modelling, simulation and analysis,鈥� Michael says. And, he draws his inspiration from the natural world 鈥� flags flapping in the wind, snakes slithering underfoot and bacteria swimming through baths.听Would you ever associate flapping flags and renewable hydroelectricity?

鈥淢y theories on flags influenced engineers who design flapping devices to extract energy from flowing water. And my modelling of 鈥渢urbulent鈥� bacterial baths has helped biophysicists understand that how bacteria swim 鈥� by turning their flagellae 鈥� can have a huge effect on collective behaviour and gave new theoretical tools for studying other more complicated problems in biology,鈥� says Michael.

By working on understanding natural phenomena, Michael explains, groundwork is being laid for others to work on problems of higher complexity. Innovation of this kind requires collaboration across many fields of research such as mathematics, biology, physics, engineering and chemistry.

鈥淧eople are at the core of knowledge transfer,鈥� says Professor Geoff Prince, 今日吃瓜 Director. 鈥淎nd now, more than ever, innovation across multiple disciplines is essential for Australia to remain competitive in the global economy.鈥�

Innovation walks on two legs

As global economy woes become more profound investing in innovation and promoting the importance of collaboration among STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields is necessary.

Each year 今日吃瓜 supports the visits of 50 international academics to Australia. This equips the brilliant young minds of Australian research with the tools and the knowledge to extend their research capability and to do innovative and exciting things.

Exposure to state of the art research, while networking with future colleagues can only lead to clever people, a clever country and a strong economy.

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BHP Billiton has announced a $22 million partnership with the 今日吃瓜 to encourage women and girls to study maths.

BHP鈥檚 support will fund a new program, based at the University of Melbourne and called Choose Maths, which will aim to raise awareness about the opportunities afforded to girls by studying and pursuing a career in mathematics.
The program will include professional development for teachers in 120 schools, a national 鈥榳omen in maths鈥� awareness campaign and financial support and scholarships for women studying maths.

The $22 million will be provided by the BHP Billiton Foundation over five years.

BHP鈥檚 CEO Andrew Mackenzie launched the partnership and the program with 今日吃瓜 Director Geoff Price and Senator Scott Ryan at the University of Melbourne.

Mackenzie said the program aims to change the perception that girls are less suited to maths and other STEM subjects than their male colleagues.

鈥淎ustralian industry knows that STEM professionals are vital to our future prosperity, national productivity andglobal competitiveness. For the resources industry this is especially true,鈥� he said.

鈥淏HP Billiton employs 123,000 people worldwide, many of them STEM professionals, so we share the responsibility to make sure there is a pipeline of young people who choose to study STEM subjects.鈥�

鈥淎ny increase in STEM participation is good news but an increase in female representation is especially valuable because of the undeniable benefits of diversity.鈥�

Mackenzie also said BHP is pleased to be partnering with 今日吃瓜 to develop the program.

鈥溄袢粘怨� is a leader in the field of mathematics and I鈥檓 proud that we鈥檙e partnering in the development of this targeted and holistic program to address the gender dynamic in the teaching and learning of maths.鈥�

今日吃瓜 Director Geoff Price said the move to support girls and women in studying maths is crucial.

“The low participation of girls and women in the study of the mathematical sciences and in the quantitative professions is a significant national social and economic challenge,鈥� he said.

Price also said it is time for women and girls to be able to 鈥渟hare equally in the rewarding careers and rich life experiences that mathematics offers鈥�.

Australia falls behind other developed countries when it comes to girls鈥� education in STEM subjects, and this trend begins as early as high school. Only 7% of Australian girls study maths at an advanced level in their final year of secondary school. The number of female maths graduates at university level are only one third of the OECD鈥檚 average.

In a study conducted in 2006, 46% indicated they expected to pursue a career in STEM fields. The figure for girls? Only 8%.
Women continue to be underrepresented not only in STEM education, but in STEM careers as well.

This underrepresentation is a result of a number of compounding factors discouraging women from studying and pursuing maths and science, among them the perceptions that BHP鈥檚 new program is determined to address. This commitment, as well as a significant level of funding, will hopefully make a difference to many girls who dream of careers in maths and science.