RMIT STEM College

Clinical supervisors play a vital role in supporting our School of Health and Biomedical Science students to undertake industry placements and prepare for work-ready practice. The School recently hosted the inaugural SHBS Placement Educator Day, which brought together almost 200 clinical supervisors from our industry partners across Biomedical Science, Chiropractic, Chinese Medicine, Laboratory Medicine, Medical Radiations, Nursing, Osteopathy and Physiotherapy. Through a series of workshops, educators shared practical strategies for effective supervision and explored how to foster belonging, capability and professional growth – for both students and educators. Professor Ross Vlahos, Dean, School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, said that the event reinforced the importance of industry collaboration. “The event focused on shared learning and connection between our RMIT academics and industry partners, helping to strengthen the partnerships that underpin our School’s approach to clinical education,” Vlahos said. “Through industry partnerships like these, we are shaping reflective, capable and compassionate health professionals who are prepared for the future.” Catherine Itsiopoulos, Professor Angela Carbone, Sophia Xenos, Doa El-Ansary, Adam Steward, Dr Paul Callaghan, Associate Professor Andrew Kilgour, Karim Yacoub, Rosita Zakaria, Joshua Farragher, Emilio Kardaris, Roula Kyriacou

It was wonderful to welcome Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, The Hon. Amanda Rishworth MP, to our City campus last week. The Minister heard from a number of our senior leaders and program experts on our various industry-based learning models, called ‘Earn and Learn’ at RMIT University. ‘Earn and Learn’ models are part of RMIT's response to the Australian Universities Accord. We are helping shape a new tertiary education system to better address Australia’s critical skills shortages and provide education opportunities for those who need to work alongside their studies. From offering a Free Diploma for women in IT, to delivering Queensland’s first nuclear medicine degree, and offering a vocational and higher education qualification to Mechanical Engineering students, RMIT’s ‘Earn and Learn’ model has already seen great outcomes. Find out more about Earn and Learn at RMIT: https://lnkd.in/g6aY5qhS Mish Eastman | Catherine Itsiopoulos | Hon. Brendan O'Connor | Nicholas P. | Iain Lockie | Rick Ede | Lesley Bridge | Nithya Gopu Solomon MAICD | RMIT STEM College 

Congratulations to Professor Michelle Spencer and Professor Oliver Jones for receiving the Award for Teaching Excellence at the 2025 Australian Awards for University Teaching! The award recognises Spencer and Jones’s work in pioneering a student-centred partnership model for co-creating educational tools, where students across different disciplines worked together to develop educational TV shows and software focused on learning about chemistry. The innovative model has since been used by academics around the world. Other RMIT teams also received Citations for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning: The Gooey Gut Trail team, for their innovative board game that aims to improve student understanding of gastrointestinal health and the RMIT criminology and justice team whose project addressed legal skills gaps in graduates post COVID-19, supporting student wellbeing, engagement and belonging. Read more about Spencer and Jones's work: https://lnkd.in/gjFEmJYv Universities Australia | Nandini Pasumarthy | Dr Jessica Danaher | Alyssa Sigamoney | Michele Ruyters | Tiziana D'Costa | Rhett Chesser | Gina Bekker

Mental health nurses play a vital role in supporting people through tough times, so how can we better support them? Last Friday, we co-hosted the International Mental Health Nurses Day Symposium in partnership with the Australian College of Mental Health Nurses and Northern Health, which coincided with International Mental Health Nurses Day 2026. Under the theme ‘Resist, Insist, Persist’, this cross-sector event brought together senior leaders, including Chief Mental Health Nurse Anna Love and Commissioner of the Commission for Children and Young People Tracy Beaton, along with mid and early-career mental health nurses from clinical services, regulators and academics. Together, we identified a shared need for ongoing dialogue about mental health nursing workforce reform to address national and global workforce shortages. We also highlighted the importance of visible role models and targeted professional development for mental health nurses of all career stages. Sarah McKay, mental health nursing lecturer, was one of the symposium MCs and said: “This symposium celebrated a vital and strong profession that deserves to be recognised in its own right.” Professor Graeme Polglase, who recently joined RMIT University as Head of the Department of Clinical Sciences, said the event reinforced RMIT’s leadership in the field of mental health nursing. “Over RMIT’s 42-year history as a provider of continuous mental health nursing education, we have forged partnerships between other institutions, industry and professional bodies to shape the future of the mental health nursing workforce,” Graeme said. "Events like this are a fantastic opportunity to highlight the value of this work and establish a pathway for increased investment in mental health nurses for the community.” Ross Vlahos, Ruby Walter, Prof Rhonda Wilson, Sinead Barry, Wendy Cross, Julie Waddingham

We hosted our Quantum Computing Summer School last week, where learners got the opportunity to experience the exciting world of #quantum #technology, exploring algorithms, hardware, and applications across science and industry. Open to a range of skill levels, the program provided a collaborative environment to learn, network, and engage with leading voices shaping the future of quantum. One student said: “This experience provided me with an opportunity to learn quantum computing in a simple and accessible way without being overwhelmed by technical details. It offered a perfect combination of fundamental concepts and industry research, and the hands-on projects were a great way to test my learning in a practical setting." We were grateful to be joined by industry and government stakeholders during the week, including Dr Amanda Caples, Victoria’s Lead Scientist, Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions, who opened the program on Monday. Quantum technologies are a major research strength at RMIT University. With a strong focus on real-world application, we aim to drive advances in quantum science, build a skilled and future-ready workforce, and contribute to major national and international initiatives in this rapidly evolving field. Neelofar Hassan, Iqbal Gondal, Karin Verspoor, Muhammad Usman

We were proud to be a partner of last week’s NZOZ Sensory and Consumer Science Symposium, hosted by the The Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology - AIFST. RMIT University is a leader in food science and technology research, adopting an integrated approach that spans the full food value chain – from ingredient development and food processing, to nutrition, sensory perception, and consumer response – to support healthier people and a more sustainable planet. This year’s symposium brought together researchers, practitioners and students from across Australia, New Zealand and beyond. Event co-chair, RMIT senior lecturer and sensory scientist Julia Low, said that the symposium was a fantastic opportunity to connect with industry and explore potential interdisciplinary collaborations. "From the beginning, we wanted this symposium to go beyond the food itself. We aimed to explore eating experiences more holistically, bridge industry and research more intentionally, and create stronger networking moments,” Julia said. "I think we stayed true to that vision.” RMIT’s School of Science was also delighted to sponsor a range of prizes for students who presented their PhD research, with first place going to our very own Brooke Crawford, and Grace Wang-Loke being awarded third. Jayani Chandrapala, Brant Gibson, Fiona Fleming, NZIFST

We're thrilled to be an official Event Supporter of the FORMULA 1 QATAR AIRWAYS AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX 2026! Thanks to a new three-year partnership between RMIT and the Australian Grand Prix Corporation (AGPC), we'll be bringing more students into STEM through the world of motorsports. The partnership will allow STEM students to grow their skillsets and explore career pathways by providing increased opportunities to connect with top professionals in the motorsport industry and showcasing the next generation of talent. RMIT and AGPC are also set to explore internships for students, investigate opportunities to promote and develop initiatives to support career pathways in motorsport with a focus on STEM, and identify potential research areas for student projects. RMIT STEM College's Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President, Professor Catherine Itsiopoulos said the exciting new agreement builds on a longstanding relationship with the AGPC and the opportunities it would create were set to inspire more people to enter STEM fields. “We’re very excited to be working more closely with the AGPC over the next three years to create an even better experience for students, both current and prospective, and continue to highlight just how exciting and meaningful a career in STEM can be," said Itsiopoulos. Read the article: https://brnw.ch/21x06oR

We were delighted to host our third Aviation Academy Industry Advisory Committee (IAC) meeting last Thursday at Melbourne Airport.    The RMIT Aviation Academy aims to produce world-class graduates to meet evolving aviation expectations, workforce needs, and global aviation standards.    These IAC meetings bring together our valued industry partners and Aviation Academy leaders to share insights and discuss ways we can improve student learning outcomes, operational practice and safety culture through innovative partnerships and program offerings.    Last Thursday’s meeting was hosted by committee member Jim Parashos, Melbourne Airport’s Chief of Aviation, who gave attendees an airside tour of the airport.    Also in attendance were leaders from Jetstar Airways, Thales, Leidos Australia Airborne Solutions, and Australian Transport Safety Bureau.    We look forward to continuing to work with our committee members to achieve impact in aviation!    RMIT University, Lea Vesic, Justin Brownjohn, Nic Connelly, Lavinia G.

Upskill yourself this summer in technologies such as Model Based System Engineering, Digital Twins and AI Agentic Programming! RMIT’s Security & Resilience Hub is hosting a series of free short workshops over 25-27 February, designed to provide hands-on experience in areas relevant to Australia's National Science and Research Priority 5: “Building a secure and resilient nation”. Through these interactive sessions delivered in collaboration with industry partners – including CSIRO, Obeo, LEAP Australia, and IES Ltd. – you will build practical skills to tackle challenges in engineering, science and computing technologies. Registration is open to all undergraduate and postgraduate students, as well as members of the public who are looking to upskill or transition their careers. 👉 Find out more and register: https://lnkd.in/g2c65UUg STEM College is leading evidence-based solutions to bolster Australia’s security and resilience and address complex challenges spanning digital disruption, critical infrastructure integrity, and natural disasters. John Thangarajah, Sebastian Rodriguez, RACE (RMIT Advanced Cloud Ecosystem), SMEC AI

We’re excited to announce that we have signed an MOU with the United Nations Association of Australia - NSW Division to connect engineering students with communities across NSW. STEM College is committed to delivering quality engineering education that foregrounds a humanitarian perspective, with a focus on social impact and improving quality of life in society. Through gamification and other applied learning approaches, we offer students the opportunity to work directly with communities, particularly marginalised and vulnerable groups, to develop innovative solutions that make a difference. Dr Spyros Schismenos, co-lead of RMIT's Humanitarian Engineering Lab, said he is proud to continue expanding RMIT’s humanitarian engineering footprint in NSW. “Through the HERCULES initiative, we are already working with partners in NSW – including SydWest Multicultural Services, Settlement Services International (SSI) and Blacktown City Council – to help students apply their classroom learnings in real-world scenarios that benefit communities.   “We’re excited to take our impact further by working with UNAA NSW Division to bring humanitarian engineering into local schools and communities and advance our goal of creating a more equitable society, in line with the mission and values of both the United Nations and RMIT University.” Read more about humanitarian engineering at RMIT: https://lnkd.in/gGDTaKMM RMIT University, United Nations Association of Australia, Nick Brown, Kalpit Shah, Professor Vikram Garaniya, Professor Sujeeva Setunge, Catherine Itsiopoulos, Brett Martin, Shaista Khan