I-Wish stands for Inspiring Women in Science and Health and is an international initiative designed to encourage teenage girls to follow their interests in Engineering, Science, Health, and Technology. 

Since 2021, Matthew Flinders Anglican College on the Sunshine Coast has run a one-day I-Wish Conference for their Year 10 students interested in Science and Health. This year, for the first time, the school opened the Conference to other schools. St Catherine’s was invited, along with Pymble Ladies’ College in New South Wales.  Eight St Catherine’s students had the exciting opportunity to participate, alongside a group from Pymble.  

On Day One, we were warmly welcomed to the college by the Head of the Matthew Flinders Institute, Dr Louise McCuaig, who is the creator of the I-Wish initiative. We were then treated to a ‘Street Science’ presentation, followed by a keynote by Professor Lisa Nissen who discussed the crucial interplay between scientific research and medical development.  

From this point, students broke into teams to meet with the eight female researchers about their journey from high school into the tertiary sector. The students enjoyed a barbeque dinner with their new friends before preparing for a big day ahead.  

Day Two was the I-Wish Challenge, where students spent the first part of the day listening to presentations from doctoral students on their cutting-edge projects. Presenters included a reproductive biologist and astrophysicist, and topics varied from black matter to the role of kelp forests in combating climate change, and the negative implications of diet culture. Based on these presentations, students selected a topic of interest and were placed into groups to focus on a particular research project.  

The second half of the day was a design sprint, where each group was charged with creating an advocacy project. Each team then pitched their strategy to a panel of expert judges (including two professors) using the ‘three-minute thesis’ format. Our students offered interesting and innovative ideas for advocacy, harnessing their knowledge of contemporary digital culture to reach a wider audience. It was very exciting to see our own Marley Nathan as part of the winning team, which, based on research into the consumer experience with medication, pitched a series of posters and infographics to improve the confidence and medical questioning skills of young people engaging with health services.  

On our final day, we joined Pymble and Matthew Flinders for a tour of the University of QLD, which included the wonderful opportunity to spend time with the Liveris Scholars, who are undergraduates whose STEM-related degrees are supported by Scholarships from the Liveris Foundation. The scholars explained their educational journey to our students and showed us their impressive learning spaces.   

The opportunity to work with two like-minded schools in Matthew Flinders and Pymble Ladies’ College is unique and we commend the students for putting their hands up for the I-Wish Challenge. We hope to pilot our own I-Wish Conference in the near future on campus, as part of St Catherine’s ongoing commitment to encouraging our students to pursue careers in Health and STEM.   

Below is the feedback from some of the participating students:    

Marley Nathan: “I thoroughly enjoyed immersing myself in a new environment, connecting with girls from both Flinders and Pymble, and exploring the groundbreaking research presented by PhD students. It was fascinating to learn about diverse scientific fields, like kelp imaging/tracking and dark matter in the universe. The depth of research was both inspiring and enlightening. Overall, it was a remarkably enriching experience that broadened my understanding of science and its potential to impact the world.”  

Isabella Wang: “During my experience at I-Wish I was able to understand and branch out into many different fields of science. For example, before then I had no interest in Physics or Cosmology but after the presentations given, I ended up learning a lot and became interested in the topic myself. Moreover, I really enjoyed the tour of the University of Queensland because now I’m really curious about the scholarship programs and am interested in the Engineering they offer.” 

Angela Feng: “Participating in the I-WISH experience has been an invaluable journey, offering significant educational and personal growth. Engaging with many successful researchers and scholars from the University of Queensland (UQ) has greatly broadened my understanding of academic research and its real-world applications. Interacting with these experts has deepened my knowledge and inspired me to pursue my academic interests with greater rigor and curiosity.”  

Isabella Teoh: “I-Wish was an enriching experience. I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge and found great pleasure in meeting like-minded people out of state.”