Australian education company STEM Punks has been named a winner in the 2021 BIG Innovation Awards.
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The Brisbane based company is one of only 52 organisations worldwide to receive this award and the only education company.
While it is an international player in education innovation, STEM Punks has a strong link to the New England region.
STEM Punks Chairman, Dr Jim White, is Professor of Education at the University of New England (UNE) and the CEO and founder, Michael Holmstrom, spoke at the 2019 UNE Future Of Work Conference.
The company's education director, Damien Aldridge, and his family are from Inverell.
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"STEM Punks offers curriculum-aligned courses in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths) for school students that are developed and delivered by teachers and leading innovators," Mr Aldridge said.
"Our mission is to inspire tomorrow's innovators and teach kids about 21st -century skills by enabling a mindset of creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship.
"Our classes are online and in-person for kids at home and teachers in schools."
Mr Aldridge delivered a program to the Oorala Indigenous Unit at UNE in 2019, which involved giving students an insight on what it takes to have an entrepreneurial mindset and experience a university accredited program.
Two programs were delivered incorporating 'problem-based learning' with design incorporating robotics and Lego, followed by an interactive session with 3D design featuring augmented reality and virtual reality.
"The BIG Innovation Awards recognise organisations and people who bring new ideas to life," said Maria Jimenez chief operating officer of the Business Intelligence Group, the US company that run the awards.
"Whether that idea is big or small, these ideas change the way we experience the world.
"The BIG Innovation Awards recognize every innovation that our judges deem worthy of recognition. Nominations are individually scored by a panel of experts, hand-selected by our advisory panel and employees."
Ms Jimenez said the Brisbane based company STEM Punks provides online STEM education to teachers and students worldwide, emphasising innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship.
"More than ever, the global society relies on innovation to help progress humanity and make our lives more productive, healthy and comfortable," said Ms Jimenez.
"We are thrilled to be honouring STEM Punks as they are one of the organizations leading this charge and helping humanity progress."
Organizations from across the globe submitted their recent innovations for consideration in the BIG Innovation Awards.
Nominations were then judged by a select group of business leaders and executives who volunteer their time and expertise to score submissions.
The Business Intelligence Group was founded to recognise true talent and superior performance in the business world.
Unlike other industry award programs, these programs are judged by business executives having experience and knowledge.
The organisation's proprietary and unique scoring system selectively measures performance across multiple business domains and rewards those companies whose achievements stand above those of their peers.