ViewBank College’s Head of Technology and STEAM Project Leader, Veena Nair has received the 2022 Prime Minister’s Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching in Secondary Schools.
The prestigious award is one of the many that celebrates the contributions of 12 of the country’s leading scientists, innovators and science teachers.
According to the Department of Industry website, Nair is a leading educator in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics). She has more than 20 years’ experience teaching science-based subjects across three different countries—India, the United Arab Emirates and Australia.
Nair began her teaching career in India, where she provided computers to low socio-economic schools and taught students how to code. This led to her discovering a passion for teaching. She is driven by inspiring students from a range of backgrounds to become interested in STEAM and improving diversity among the next generation of leaders in the field, the website says.
As STEAM Project Leader and Head of Technology at Viewbank College, Nair has led the development of curricular and extracurricular STEAM projects, including several new electives including 3D printing, emerging technologies, engineering and integrated art and technology projects like wearables. Ms Nair also encourages her students to take part in extracurricular activities to advance their STEAM knowledge outside the classroom.
She has demonstrated to students the practical application of STEAM and how they can use their skills to make real impact in the world. Nair has helped increase the number of students studying STEAM subjects at Viewbank College, most notably the number of female students. The number of students who go on to study STEAM subjects at university has also increased under her leadership, it further states.
Nair wrote to every university in Victoria and ultimately convinced most Victorian universities to recognise VCE Systems Engineering as a relevant bonus subject for undergraduate Engineering courses.
Nair also collaborates with a variety of industry leaders and academics to introduce a broad variety of STEAM careers to her students, aligning technology and education. She encourages students to participate in the Swinburne Youth Space Innovation Challenge, a 10-week program that sees secondary students competing to create the best experiment to launch into space. The winning project is sent to the International Space Station with the help of industry partners.
Nair also supported the Young Persons’ Plan for the Planet program, a STEM-based enterprise development program that gives students the opportunity to engage with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals as changemakers at a global level.
Through this program she led a team of Australian teachers to conduct STEAM workshops for teachers in low socio-economic schools in Mumbai, India. Nair convenes a biannual STEAM Futures Conference for industry specialists, teachers and students to discuss careers in STEM, new developments and school programs for students.
She also established a Joint Vision for STEM committee including school and tertiary educators and industry experts, with the intention of developing strategies to make STEAM education and careers in STEM accessible for all students, especially females, according to the professional achievements and citation by the Department of Industry.
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ViewBank College’s Head of Technology & STEAM Project Leader, Veena Nair has received the 2022 Prime Minister’s Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching in Secondary Schools. 🏆 #TheIndianSunhttps://t.co/ehlpzXh0AM
— The Indian Sun (@The_Indian_Sun) November 22, 2022
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