Winyama receives McGowan Government STEM Education Grant
Winyama has received a $70,000 grant for its community event, the Indigenous Mapping Workshop Australia. The grant, awarded alongside eight other West Australian STEM projects, is being funded by the McGowan Government to boost the skills of people under-represented in science, technology, engineering and math professions.
The state investment of $738,000 will develop participants' digital and technology skills that are crucial for future jobs, such as coding, data analysis and geospatial mapping, and provide deeper knowledge about concepts such as virtual reality and artificial intelligence.
The funding marks a crucial progression in the State’s new Digital and Technology Skills Program. The program is an initiative under the State STEM skills strategy Future jobs, future skills - Driving STEM skills in Western Australia, which aims to ensure that all West Australians have an opportunity to develop their skills to embrace a technological future.
Winyama’s Managing Director, Andrew Dowding, says that the grant has and will continue to help the Indigenous Mapping Workshops agenda in Western Australia.
“Indigenous Australians have been mapping for over 70,000 years, but statistics show that they do not have the same technology skills as non-Indigenous people to digitalise their knowledge or create mapping tools to better manage their lands and waters effectively.
The Indigenous Mapping Workshop aims to bridge that gap, and with the funding from the McGowan Government, we have already been able to make an impact in the indigenous STEM education space,” he said.
Science Minister, Dave Kelly, said that all Western Australians should have the opportunity to develop STEM skills regardless of age, gender, race or postcode.
"By supporting STEM education service providers outside the formal education system, we are opening up more avenues for Western Australians to build their skills and gain employment in a STEM future,” he said.
Winyama congratulates other grant recipients:
City of Bunbury ($30,000) for the Bunbury Library Makerspace;
Fire Tech Camp Australia Pty Ltd ($147,007) for the Wirrpanda STEM Indigenous Project;
Peel Bright Minds ($49,197) for the Peel Bright Minds Project;
Shire of Murray ($30,000) for the Murray STEM Futures Project;
Spacecubed ($210,000) for the She Codes Project; and
Women in Technology WA ($179,900) for the Techtrails [tech+] Future Skills Program.
Are you working on a project that requires Indigenous knowledge or geospatial capability? Winyama is a Supply Nation certified business that specialises in geospatial consulting services that protect the rights and interests of Australia’s First Nations people. Get in touch with us for a chat about your project!