UNSW partners with AMT to support student engagement in computer science
The partnership will support the continued growth and development of student engagement with computer science in Australia.
Published on the 25 May 2023
UNSW School of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) has signed a partnership agreement with The Australian Maths Trust (AMT) to support student engagement in computer science. CSE and AMT share a vision to grow and empower our next generation of STEM leaders, and recognise the importance of providing support earlier in the student’s learning experience to enhance computational thinking, mathematical and algorithmic solving.
Under the partnership agreement, the UNSW Kensington campus will host AMT’s Informatics (Computer Science) Olympiad selection school and training programs for the next three years. UNSW will also provide the program with accommodation, computer labs, teaching rooms and print services.
Another key element of the partnership will help AMT to expand its Informatics program. This program focuses on identifying and training of young Australian women to participate in the European Girls’ Olympiad in Informatics (EGOI).
“Mathematics is an enabling discipline for Computer Science, and proficiency in Mathematics will be encouraged by this partnership. In particular, CSE is pleased to support female student engagement in Computer Science through this partnership with AMT,” says Professor Arcot Sowmya, Acting Head of School at UNSW School of Computer Science and Engineering.
“Our Women in Engineering Mentoring Program has been growing in leaps and bounds, and this partnership will support our efforts in this space.”
AMT CEO Nathan Ford says the deal is a fantastic opportunity to grow interest in mathematics and informatics, which are key pathways for engineering and other STEM industries.
“Through this partnership, our students will have access to world-class facilities and resources to enhance their training. UNSW’s support gives us great operational certainty and allows us to plan for ongoing improvements to the program. We are particularly excited that this partnership will help us start building our EGOI initiative,” he says.
The AMT Maths and Informatics high performance and Olympiad programs are supported by the Department of Industry, Science and Resources through the Science Competition: Mathematics and Informatics Olympiads grant opportunity. The programs also receive support from Optiver, the Trust’s National Sponsor of the Australian Informatics and Mathematical Olympiad Programs.
The informatics high performance program involves a 12-month annual cycle culminating in the selection of the Australian team to attend the International Olympiad in Informatics each year.