Celebrating NAIDOC - Learning from Indigenous Innovation

The challenge:

Our UNSW Young WIE Club challenge requires you to design a modern engineering solution that is inspired by, adapted from, or directly integrates an Indigenous Australian engineering technology, structure, or method.

Your design might be an improvement on an existing Indigenous innovation using modern tools, or it might be a completely new application of ancient principles to a 21st-century issue.

To develop your solution:

• What Indigenous engineering method or technology are you drawing inspiration from? (e.g. aquaculture, firestick farming, tools, shelters, navigation systems)

• What challenge or need does your modern design address? (e.g. food security, housing, disaster resilience, transport, water access, land care)

• How does your adaptation respect and acknowledge the cultural knowledge it builds upon? How does it reflect the 2025 NAIDOC theme: The Next Generation – Strength, Vision & Legacy?

• How might your design be used in a contemporary Australian context, especially in remote communities, urban areas, or infrastructure projects? 

• What materials or technologies are needed to implement your design?

• Who would be involved in building or applying your design (e.g. civil, mechanical, environmental, software engineers)?

• Are there ethical or cultural considerations when using Indigenous knowledge for engineering?     

Submission

Due 11:59pm, Sunday, 21 September 2025. Email your submission to wie@unsw.edu.au with the title “NAIDOC Engineering Challenge” and your name, school, and year stage.

In your submission, please make sure you include the following:

• A brief introduction about yourself and the aim(s) of your design proposal

• A description of the Indigenous engineering technology you are drawing from

• Your modern adaptation or redesign proposal

• Sketches, models, or diagrams to show your idea

• Resources, technologies or materials required

• The engineering disciplines involved

• Cultural or ethical considerations you took into account

• OPTIONAL: Examples of current projects or Indigenous-led innovation that are similar

Format

• 2–6-page PDF document; or
• 2-5-minute video; or
• A2 poster **

If there is an additional format you think would work better for your proposal, please run it by the UNSW Young WIE Club team first by emailing wie@unsw.edu.au.

**Note: when doing a poster, try to limit the amount of text and preference diagrams you use to make it easy for the reader. 

Prize

The top three (3) challenge entries as determined by the UNSW Young WIE Club team will win a special prize pack.  

To get you started, here are some examples of Indigenous Engineering methods and technologies to explore:

To get you started, here are some examples of Indigenous Engineering methods and technologies to explore:

• Brewarrina Fish Traps (Baiame’s Ngunnhu): Ancient, sustainable stone aquaculture systems

• Boomerangs: Aerodynamic principles, returning flight, curved surfaces

• Water systems: Seasonal water harvesting, clay filtration, aquifers, stone channels

• Bush food knowledge and land management: Traditional fire use, seasonal calendars, bush harvesting

• Firestick farming: Controlled burning for regeneration, requiring knowledge of vegetation, wind, and timing

• Smoke signalling and communication systems

• Cooling shelters and shading design: Seasonal shelter orientation and passive design

• Woven traps, nets, and tools: Understanding of material strength and tensile forces

• Shell middens and waste management: Sustainable resource use and long-term ecological impacts

• Songlines and navigation: Oral geospatial mapping