15 Feb 2022
When you want to be a force for good and positively impact the communities that matter to your business, it can be tricky wondering where to start.
Launch into community outreach with the Wonder Project. There’s plenty to gain when you’re on board with the Wonder Project as an employer, even if your team is already involved and loving it. But first thing’s first – what’s it all about?
Building a future workforce that’s bursting with diversity and talent
Many young Kiwis today have no idea they can aspire to a STEM career. The Wonder Project seeks to change this by working together with volunteer STEM professionals and businesses, to raise the aspirations of young Kiwis in schools across Aotearoa – inspiring their belief that they can be the innovators and change makers of the future.
The Wonder Project offers a series of free programmes for schools, designed to take young Kiwis from Year 5–13 on a creative, dynamic, and fun STEM journey. Everything is supplied free of charge and crafted to bring the wonder of STEM to life for all young Kiwis, and especially young girls, Māori and Pasifika.
Students from St Anne’s Catholic School watching their rockets soar in the Rocket Challenge.
When role models help kids see, they believe they can be
The magic of the programme comes from the relationship between the school and their Wonder Project Ambassador. Ambassadors are volunteer STEM professionals who visit a classroom in their community for a few hours across the school term, to impart their wisdom and passion for STEM, raising the aspirations of tamariki along the way.
Wonder Project Ambassador Pearl McFall’s experience with the Rocket Challenge.
What are the benefits for employers?
Aside from the rewarding experience your employees would have as ambassadors, there are heaps of benefits for employers that support the Wonder Project, including:
- Having a positive impact on corporate social responsibility
- Raising your profile in your community or nationally
- Support to leverage your involvement across your social media touchpoints
- Developing your employees’ communication and presentation skills
- Flexible engagement and options to suit your organisation
- Boosting your future technical and graduate pipeline
Support for you
Your staff are important to you. We get it. We’re here to support you, train your staff and help you inspire tamaraki with something that could change the direction of their lives. This includes:
- Presentations about the Wonder Project – in person and online
- Promotional content for your internal channels
- Matching of ambassadors to schools where you wish to have impact
- Connecting you with local schools for Wonder Experiences and Wonder Talks
- A dedicated engagement team to answer your questions
Power Challenge sponsor Transpower helping kids at Kōwhai Intermediate to light up their town.
Join the Wonder Project
Support our mission to future-proof STEM professions by encouraging staff to join our nationwide crew of volunteer Wonder Project Ambassadors.
The Rocket Challenge is our next available programme, blasting off in Term 2 this year. Register your interest before March 25 to join the wonder > Rocket Challenge
For our full suite of offerings, check out our website > https://wonderproject.nz/
Who runs the Wonder Project?
The Wonder Project is Engineering New Zealand’s free programme for schools. We are immensely proud to be funded by Callaghan Innovation.
