From 7-21 January, we had the opportunity to be a part of the Rotary National Science and Technology Forum where we, along with 166 other students from across New Zealand, got to experience university life at the University of Auckland’s Waiparuru Halls, and have hands-on experiences fully immersed in science at a tertiary level.

The Forum provided us with opportunities to explore a wide range of fields within STEM such as biomedical engineering, robotics, video science, physics, sports science, etc. which offered us insight into what we might like to study and pursue in the future.  Throughout our intense two weeks there, we formed lifelong friendships and a Forum family we’ll always remember fondly.  With both insightful and interesting modules, we also had a range of social activities, ranging from very competitive volleyball tournaments, a Talent Show, a ‘Shark Tank’ type competition, and more. This experience was truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that we would recommend to any current Year 12 student interested in STEM.

Lia Cho & Shana Singh-Anderson, Year 13