Published Tuesday, 16 January, 2007 at 09:56 AM
Minister for State Development, Employment and Industrial Relations
The Honourable John Mickel
QUEENSLAND SMART KIDS IN A ‘SPACE’ OF THEIR OWN
Rocket-boosted blasts of treated sewerage may be the best way to protect a future human settlement in space according to some talented and imaginative Queensland high school students.
Minister for State Development, Employment and Industrial Relations John Mickel said he was encouraged by the high standard of work produced by the State’s youth in response to this year’s Space Settlement Design Competition. The competition requires students to design “ASTORIA” in the year 2067 - the first space settlement community to be located in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
“These kids have to cover every contingency of a human settlement in space, from structural design and costing to providing basic social services to the population,” Mr Mickel said.
“So it’s not just for aspiring astronauts or budding rocket scientists,” he said.
Mr Mickel said unlike single-discipline competitions, such as the science or maths competition, this exercise was more comprehensive, calling for a variety of skills to be integrated to achieve the end result.
“The students involved showed some real-world creative and innovative flair,” Mr Mickel said.
Minister Mickel said up to forty-three Smart State kids would vie for a place in the international finals of the competition at Brisbane’s regional finals this month.
“The winning team will head off to the Johnson Space Centre in Houston, Texas to take on regional finalists from around the world,” Mr Mickel said.
“These kids are really dedicated and it’s important we nurture our leaders of tomorrow,” he said.
“That’s why the Beattie Government has sponsored the competition, matching the Commonwealth contribution, to help expand the competition to all of Queensland, not just the southeast corner.”
Chairman of the Aus Space Design Management Committee Mark Shaw said he welcomed the Government’s support and hoped to expand the competition to the rest of Australia in the coming years.
“We started out with one small group of eager kids in 2003 and this year we had eighty-nine entrants across Queensland schools, including from regional areas such as Cairns, Townsville and Bundaberg,” Mr Shaw said.
“We’re thrilled with the response from Queensland high schools and students, especially from the regional centres,” he said.
“We couldn’t have done it without the extra funding from the government.
“These students have some real ambition and talent and I believe initiatives such as these are integral to furthering education and careers in the maths, science and technology disciplines.”
Mr Shaw said Queensland’s entrants had placed second at the international finals in each of their previous three attempts signifying they were among the best in the world.
“Students have proven they are indeed part of the Smart State and our schools can produce students equal to any in the world,” Mr Shaw said.
“Our vision is to show the world that Queensland and Australia is world class and help our future generation of leaders realise they are world class,” Mr Shaw said.
Brisbane’s regional finals will take place next week at the University of Queensland, St Lucia Campus, from 23-25 January, 2007.
For more information on the Space Settlement Design Competition visit www.ausspacedesign.org.au (Australian comp.) or www.spaceset.org (international comp.).
Competition contact – Mark Shaw – Chairman of the Aus Space Design Management Committee – 0411 349 222
Ministerial contact: Chris Brown 3224 7349 or Elouise Campion 3224 6784.
16 January, 2007
Minister for State Development, Employment and Industrial Relations John Mickel said he was encouraged by the high standard of work produced by the State’s youth in response to this year’s Space Settlement Design Competition. The competition requires students to design “ASTORIA” in the year 2067 - the first space settlement community to be located in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
“These kids have to cover every contingency of a human settlement in space, from structural design and costing to providing basic social services to the population,” Mr Mickel said.
“So it’s not just for aspiring astronauts or budding rocket scientists,” he said.
Mr Mickel said unlike single-discipline competitions, such as the science or maths competition, this exercise was more comprehensive, calling for a variety of skills to be integrated to achieve the end result.
“The students involved showed some real-world creative and innovative flair,” Mr Mickel said.
Minister Mickel said up to forty-three Smart State kids would vie for a place in the international finals of the competition at Brisbane’s regional finals this month.
“The winning team will head off to the Johnson Space Centre in Houston, Texas to take on regional finalists from around the world,” Mr Mickel said.
“These kids are really dedicated and it’s important we nurture our leaders of tomorrow,” he said.
“That’s why the Beattie Government has sponsored the competition, matching the Commonwealth contribution, to help expand the competition to all of Queensland, not just the southeast corner.”
Chairman of the Aus Space Design Management Committee Mark Shaw said he welcomed the Government’s support and hoped to expand the competition to the rest of Australia in the coming years.
“We started out with one small group of eager kids in 2003 and this year we had eighty-nine entrants across Queensland schools, including from regional areas such as Cairns, Townsville and Bundaberg,” Mr Shaw said.
“We’re thrilled with the response from Queensland high schools and students, especially from the regional centres,” he said.
“We couldn’t have done it without the extra funding from the government.
“These students have some real ambition and talent and I believe initiatives such as these are integral to furthering education and careers in the maths, science and technology disciplines.”
Mr Shaw said Queensland’s entrants had placed second at the international finals in each of their previous three attempts signifying they were among the best in the world.
“Students have proven they are indeed part of the Smart State and our schools can produce students equal to any in the world,” Mr Shaw said.
“Our vision is to show the world that Queensland and Australia is world class and help our future generation of leaders realise they are world class,” Mr Shaw said.
Brisbane’s regional finals will take place next week at the University of Queensland, St Lucia Campus, from 23-25 January, 2007.
For more information on the Space Settlement Design Competition visit www.ausspacedesign.org.au (Australian comp.) or www.spaceset.org (international comp.).
Competition contact – Mark Shaw – Chairman of the Aus Space Design Management Committee – 0411 349 222
Ministerial contact: Chris Brown 3224 7349 or Elouise Campion 3224 6784.
16 January, 2007