On the 25th of July, Mary was joined by Minister for Defence Materiel, the Hon Dr Mike Kelly, to celebrate the sponsorship by Northrop Grumman Corporation of Dickson College students for the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Outback Challenge 2013.
“I was very pleased with the announcement of the $10,000 sponsorship by Northrop Grumman Corporation to some of our most innovative college students,” Ms Porter said.
“The college UAV program is in ts 3rd year and this exciting partnership between industry and ACT education will assist years 11 and 12 students in developing skills that will help them in their future careers”.
The funds will be used primarily to procure equipment to support Dickson College’s entry in the UAV Outback Challenge event. The challenge is an initiative between the Queensland Government and the Australian Research Centre for Aerospace Automation, Aviation Development Australia and AUVS-Australia and is aimed at developing students’ interest in robotics as well as demonstrating UAV use in civilian applications.
“This is a fantastic opportunity for Dickson college students in examining future opportunities in science and technology,” Mary stated.
“It is vital that we connect students with current experts who are leading the world in technological innovations.”
Northrop Grumman executives and engineers from overseas are expected to visit Australia over the next year and engage with the students in promoting career opportunities in engineering or science.
“We are delighted to have Northrop Grumman’s support for our UAV program,” said Rob Emanuel, principal of Dickson College.
“This partnership between industry and education is vitally important to us and enables us to provide exciting and challenging opportunities for our students to work with cutting edge technology and understand the opportunities which exist for them once they graduate,” Mr Emanuel concluded.
Mary with the Hon. Dr Mike Kelly, Mr Rob Emaual (school principal), students from Dickson College and representatives from Northrop Grumman
Gallery 2013 Image 23
