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ACU Executive Dean of Education and Arts Professor Mary Ryan said the STEM centre would complement the work of ACU’s recently announced Australian Centre for the Advancement of Literacy.

“These two pioneering centres will put ACU further on the map as world leaders in educational excellence,” Professor Ryan said.

Professor Skrbis said the centre was the result of great energy, commitment, and teamwork among ACU staff committed to advancing the university’s role as a leader in pursuit of educational excellence.

“This centre will help us to make our mark in this exciting and dynamic field of teaching and learning,” he said.

The centre will offer pre-school programs designed to pique interest in STEM among young children, and a raft of courses for junior school students including robotics, coding, entrepreneurial thinking, and Girls in STEM, as well as homework and tutoring clubs.

ACU will also support senior school students by working with Western Sydney schools to increase subject offerings in STEM areas of learning impacted by teacher shortages through a blended mode of program delivery.

School teachers are also set to benefit from the new centre with professional development opportunities in areas including maths, science, technology, and literacy designed to ensure they have the cutting-edge skills, knowledge and experiences required to support students learn skills of the future.

The centre will offer short courses and microcredentials covering general STEM skills for learners of all ages, supporting personal interests and changes in career.

It will also include new industry training opportunities harnessing Metaverse to enable ACU to work with industry partners to provide immersive virtual training to upskill workers and meet shortages, as well as support researchers to collaborate on STEM projects nationally and internationally. Makerspace will also provide access to innovative and emerging technologies for the local community to explore.