STEM Alliance Aotearoa

The Science Communicator's Association of New Zealand (SCANZ) is holding their 2026 conference in Ōtautahi Christchurch. The SCANZ conference is Aotearoa’s only dedicated event for science communications professionals, students, researchers, journalists, creatives and anyone passionate about connecting communities with science.

The conference theme is "Regeneration: building a science-informed future" and will explore how science communication can adapt and thrive through change — from shifts across the science sector and new technologies to climate and societal challenges — while celebrating the creativity and innovation happening in Aotearoa. Ōtautahi Christchurch, with its powerful story of rebuilding and renewal, is the perfect setting for these conversations.

The conference will be held at Haere-roa at the University of Canterbury, with 24 June dedicated to a pre-conference activity and welcome event, followed by two full conference days on 25-26 June.

Submissions are now open for proposals for talks, workshops, panels and lightning talks. Whether you’re an experienced presenter or completely new to speaking, we encourage you to apply: https://www.scanz.co.nz/call-for-proposals-2026.

If you have questions or want help shaping an idea, please get in touch at [email protected]

📢 Support Māori success in STEMM — share this with your networks!

Pūhoro STEMM Academy is now accepting applications for their Summer Internship Programme. The programme is open to rangatahi studying at tertiary level and organisations and industry experts who are interested in hosting interns.

This is a powerful opportunity to support rangatahi Māori into real-world, paid, and culturally supported experiences in STEMM.

📆Applications close Friday 18 July.

👉Find out more and apply: www.puhoro.org.nz/internship-programme

🦋 Monarchs, wetlands and 3D-printed landscape designs? This is project-based learning at its best.

At Christ the King Catholic School, Owairaka, students took the lead on restoring native habitats in their local environment — building butterfly havens, designing a māra hūpara and even turning a boggy field into an ephemeral wetland.

Along the way they met scientists, worked with landscape architects and brought science to life through storytelling and design.

Check out the full case study here:
👉 https://cometauckland.org.nz/news/2025/pbl-rewilding-auckland



Ministry of Education NZ David Seymour Erica Stanford MP Penny Simmonds MP Dr Shane Reti MP

🎮 What if learning about sustainable food choices was as engaging as playing your favourite game?

That’s exactly what students at manurewa intermediate school set out to achieve last year. With support from scientists and game developers, they explored the environmental impact of their lunchbox choices and designed their own educational games to inspire change.

💡 This innovative project:
✅ Encouraged systems thinking — tracing the ‘mauri’ of food from farm to fork
✅ Combined science, sustainability and game design for deeper engagement
✅ Gave students real-world problem-solving and design skills
✅ Will leave a legacy of student-created educational games

📲 Watch the video in the article to see the project in action!

🔗 Read the full case study here: https://cometauckland.org.nz/news/2025/the-8-16-40-crisis-gamifying-eco-nutrition-case-study



EMA Microsoft Kiwibank Fisher & Paykel The Open Fort Food for Thought Clean Plate

ATTENTION TEACHERS AND PRINCIPALS!

The Royal Society Te Apārangi is accepting applications for the 2026 cohort of its MBIE-funded Science Teaching Leadership Programme. Applications close on May 8th.

Click on the link below for more information, including eligibility criteria.

The STLP seeks to transform science teaching and learning within primary and secondary schools across Aotearoa NZ. Schools nominate a teacher to develop their curriculum and leadership skills in science, connect with like-minded peers and develop links with science organisations in their communities.

All STLP costs are covered by Royal Society Te Apārangi, including release to undertake the host placement.

About the Science Teaching Leadership Programme The Science Teaching Leadership Programme provides opportunities for primary schools, secondary science departments and their nominated teachers to enhance the teaching of science within school communities.

🔬 STEM isn’t just for scientists; it powers our entire economy.

From food innovation to sustainable energy, finance and healthcare, STEM is critical to nearly every industry. However, Aotearoa New Zealand faces a looming STEM talent shortage — and if we don’t act now, businesses across the country will feel the impact.

At Kelston Girls' College, students explored how chemistry and maths shape food science and product development — an industry worth $72 billion to our economy. Through hands-on experiments and expert-led sessions, they saw STEM not just as a subject but as a tool for innovation.

📣 As lead teacher Rebecca McGrath explains: "Chemistry can seem a bit dry and abstract, but the process of learning the science, doing the hands-on experience and writing up the formula makes everything tie together — and you can see that little light bulb go off." 💡

💭 Imagine the impact if more students had these opportunities across every STEM-driven sector.

👀 Read more about this project and why businesses should care about STEM education: https://cometauckland.org.nz/news/2025/the-8-16-40-crisis-kitchen-chemistry-case-study

🔄 Share to keep the conversation going.

Rangeview Intermediate is also getting stuck in to this amazing new WeSTEM project with Fair Food and Kelston Intermediate School. Watch this space!

We are proud to support this brand new WeSTEM project with Fair Food, Kelston Intermediate School and Rangeview Intermediate School! Watch this space!

📢 Getting our Māori and Pasifika rangatahi engaged in STEM is critical

Māori and Pasifika currently make up just 8% of STEM tertiary students in Aotearoa NZ, yet they’ll be 40% of our under-40 workforce in just 16 years. If we want to close this gap, we need to make STEM education more meaningful, inclusive and connected to identity.

🌊 That’s exactly what the Pacific Wayfinding project did in 2019. Students from McAuley High School and Ormiston Junior College explored wave science and Polynesian navigation, sailing on a traditional waka and using modern physics to decode their ancestors’ navigational techniques. The result? A STEM experience that was culturally empowering and deeply relevant.

🚀 Read more about this incredible project and how we can rethink STEM education in Aotearoa NZ: https://cometauckland.org.nz/news/2025/the-8-16-40-crisis-pacific-wayfinding-case-study

🔄 Share if you believe in making STEM education more inclusive!