The National Youth Science Forum (NYSF) is a summer school programme dedicated to year eleven students who are heading into year twelve and are thinking about a career in science, engineering and related disciplines to major scientific institutions and researchers. They are also given training in time management, interview skills and public speaking. In previous years it has been known as the National Science Summer School (NSSS).
The Forum is a residential program and takes place during January in
Canberra
Canberra ( )
is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...
and
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
. All activities are supervised by student staff and resident
Rotary counsellors. The program is advertised to be extremely intensive with little time for outside activities except for meeting those people already in the program.
Some say the most important aspect coming from the NYSF is a network of friends, colleagues and support groups throughout Australia which will be of value to participants for the whole of their lives. Very select students from
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
and
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
are now also involved.
History
The NSSS was funded in 1983 by the
Canberra Development Board with assistance from many
Canberra
Canberra ( )
is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...
and outside organisations including
Rotary,
The Australian National University
The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...
(ANU), the
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government agency responsible for scientific research.
CSIRO works with leading organisations around the world. From its headquarters in Canberra, CSIRO ...
(CSIRO) and the
Canberra College of Advanced Education
The University of Canberra (UC) is a public research university with its main campus located in Bruce, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. The campus is within walking distance of Westfield Belconnen, and from Canberra's Civic Centre. UC ...
(CCAE) (now the
University of Canberra
The University of Canberra (UC) is a public research university with its main campus located in Bruce, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. The campus is within walking distance of Westfield Belconnen, and from Canberra's Civic Centre. UC ...
). The concept was developed through Mr Neville Whiffen, then Chairman of the
Canberra Development Board, with the support of members of
Rotary in District 968, Sydney, and was organised by the staff of the
CCAE.
The first NSSS was held in January 1984 with 198 students selected from across Australia. Mainstays of the program were Mr
Bob Mitchell (subsequently Assistant Vice-Chancellor of the
University of Canberra
The University of Canberra (UC) is a public research university with its main campus located in Bruce, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. The campus is within walking distance of Westfield Belconnen, and from Canberra's Civic Centre. UC ...
), Mr
Ian Frencham (formerly
CCAE, now retired),
Dr Rodney Jory (
University of Canberra
The University of Canberra (UC) is a public research university with its main campus located in Bruce, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. The campus is within walking distance of Westfield Belconnen, and from Canberra's Civic Centre. UC ...
, the founding Director of the NYSF), Mr and Mrs Ken Shields (Rotary Club of St. Ives, Sydney), Mr and Mrs Ted Armstrong (Rotary, Canberra) and six Rotarian couples, "house parents", one couple from each
State in Australia.
After this first success, the NSSS was incorporated on 5 June 1984, a
Council set up and a Director appointed.
Over the next few years, many changes were made to improve the program. The 1985 NSSS introduced specialised activity groups and for the first time, the Director was assisted by seven students, all of whom had attended in the previous year, who were invited to return as staff members. For January 1987 the NSSS was split into two sessions of two weeks, each of 138 students, 10 student staff, two Rotarian couples, and the Director.
In 1990
CRA Limited advised that it would support the NSSS financially, providing $120,000, and the NSSS became "The CRA National Science Summer School". The numbers increased to 144 per session. The scope of each of the subject groupings was widened to provide for groups only in
physics
Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...
/engineering,
chemistry
Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...
,
biology
Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...
and geology.
The 1991 NSSS saw the introduction of graduate seminars where students were able to question former students of the NSSS, who have now graduated, on their career choices. Additionally in 1992, the NSSS saw all student staff brought to
Canberra
Canberra ( )
is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...
during the Easter break of 1991 and given additional training. Subsequently, a larger responsibility was placed on the shoulders of these people in the following January, further emphasising the student nature of the NSSS organisation. Job Interviews for all students were introduced in 1993, and formal University Seminars (reunions) were held in all mainland State capitals in the following March.
In January 1995 the NSSS changed its name to "NYSF," a name more accurately reflecting the meaning of the program, and in September of that same year, Mrs
Sandra Meek joined the staff of the
NSSS Inc. taking over the responsibility of maintaining the student database from Mrs
Ada Meek who now was able to concentrate more on program matters.
January 1997 was the last
CRA NYSF as
CRA Limited and RTZ Plc were later in the year merged to form
Rio Tinto Rio Tinto, meaning "red river", may refer to:
Businesses
* Rio Tinto (corporation), an Anglo-Australian multinational mining and resources corporation
** Rio Tinto Alcan, based in Canada
** Rio Tinto Borax in America
*** Rio Tinto Borax Mine, ...
and this was to be the future prefix. However, early in 1998, almost concurrently with the appointment of
John Sandeman as Chairman of Council, Rio Tinto announced that January 1999 was to be its last year of full sponsorship (at $200,000) and that the sponsorship would be halved for January 2000 and drop to $25,000 thereafter. Rio Tinto very generously made $25,000 available to assist with a sponsorship search and provided two weekends of professional seminars in which Council members and past students were given advice into how to find sponsors. Council set an initial target of $400,000 for January 2001 and saw this as made up of 8 University sponsors and 8 industry sponsors each at $25,000 pa. The concept of university sponsors was only possible after the emphasis that had been placed on universities at both Orientation and University Seminars in the past few years.
The NYSF in January 2000 was, for the first time the "National Youth Science Forum" with no sponsor name. Partner universities and industry groups took part in both sessions and changed the emphasis from the mining industry base of past years to a university/industry base.
In November 2000, Mrs
Ada Meek retired from the office after being with the NYSF for 17 years. The Council expressed its gratitude to Ada for the influence she had had on the organisation over those years. With a full-time replacement for Ada and the Director now full-time, the
NSSS Inc. employed, from December 2000, 4 full-time staff and a part-time accountant.
Applications for the January 2001 NYSF remained the same as in previous years but the numbers of boys and girls at session A was essentially the same. In session B, however, there were 84 girls to 60 boys, the reason for the difference being a mystery. Six South Africans joined the six New Zealanders as students included in the subject groups. Two Canadians from the
Canada Wide Science Fair were present during Session A.
In 2005, after years of dedication to the program, the Director,
Prof. Rod Jory retired and was replaced by
Geoff Burchfield. Geoff was previously the head of
CSIRO
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government
The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentar ...
’s Media Unit in
Canberra
Canberra ( )
is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...
.
The 2010 NYSF was an expansion of previous years, with a third session being held in
Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
, overseen by the new Associate Director, Tom Grace.
After 8 years at the helm of the organisation, Geoff Burchfield stepped down as Director in 2013 to focus on program development for the NYSF.
From the Director
', NYSF Oulook, July 2013 His successor is Damien Pearce.
During 2017 session, it was announced that a third session was to open for 2018. This is to be hosted at
University of Queensland
, mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work
, established =
, endowment = A$224.3 million
, budget = A$2.1 billion
, type = Public research university
, chancellor = Peter Varghese
, vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry
, city = B ...
in
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
.
Application process
Applications are open to all Year 11 students who are
permanent residents of Australia and are interested in proceeding to tertiary studies in Australia to do a science, engineering or technology course. Applications close 31 May each year for the following January forum. To become a participant of the NYSF, Rotary International select a number of pupils in which they will sponsor to go to the Forum, which includes an interview, impromptu speech, group and social activities, and depending on schools and rotary clubs, examinations.
See also
*
London International Youth Science Forum
*
Asian Science Camp
*
National Science Camp
*
Stockholm International Youth Science Seminar
*
Canada-Wide Science Fair
References
{{reflist
External links
Official NYSF Web siteNYSF promotional videoRotary in Australia
Educational organisations based in Australia
Youth science
Youth in Australia
1984 establishments in Australia
Youth organizations established in 1984