School: Brisbane State High School (QLD)
Partner: Thomson Adsett Architects and affiliated engineers and town planning industries
Brisbane State High School has an enrolment of 2,100 students, the majority of whom continue on to university or other tertiary study. A 2008 report on the destinations of 2007 exit graduating students identified the school as a key contributor to students entering tertiary courses in Engineering and Architecture. At the same time, the world was facing a shortage of engineers and architects, and so the school decided to seek advice from professionals in the industry on how to ensure their students were meeting the criteria for working on industry standard software.
The school approached an internationally renowned architectural firm, ThomsonAdsett Architects seeking advice on how the school could better prepare its students for the workplace and provide clearer career paths. The company was happy to provide assistance as it was having difficulty in filling positions. It had advertised architect positions world-wide, but was finding that prospective employees were not able to use industry standard software. The outcomes for both parties aligned well. ThomsonAdsett Architects wanted to provide the school with the expertise and resources to create a pool of highly qualified persons, and the school needed to revitalise the curriculum offerings and to ensure that industry practice was embedded in student learning. In particular, it was seen as important that students worked with industry standard software.
The core planning between the two parties involved the Head of Department of Built Environment, Aeronautical Science and Technology (BEAST, formerly Technology and Design) and the General Manager from ThomsonAdsett Architects. Tours of both the school and the company were undertaken, and the company was able to evaluate what the school needed to introduce Revit Architecture (Revit is the required software) by Term 2, 2008. This led to the development of a Memorandum of Understanding as a basis for the partnership.
ThomsonAdsett Architects provides BEAST students and teachers with the opportunity of interacting with professionals working in the architectural field. The firm has helped the school to acquire 150 Revit software licences and relevant training for teachers, has donated $10,000 to assist in the implementation of the program, and provided professional time to support training for teachers, make in-class presentations to students and judge graphic design assignments.
The partnership has provided a significant career development opportunity for students. In addition to developing design skills and competencies using cutting edge design software, the program aligns with 10 of the 11 competencies for career development as outlined in the Australian Blueprint for Career Development. These competencies will be enhanced through classroom-based, community-based and work-based learning. The school is responsible for data analysis of measurable targets in relation to participation rates and student performance. ThomsonAdsett Architects gauges student performance by reviewing and judging student work on a six monthly basis.
The students have undertaken a number of projects that have taken their learning out of the classroom into real life situations. One such project is the New Farm State School master planning project. After collating data from focus groups within the New Farm school community and from a number of architects and designers, Year 10 students created a range of photo realistic drawings of two new buildings proposed for the school. Another project involved Year 12 students who recently designed ambitious architectural designs for five star hotels to meet international standards.
A recent survey of students and parents verified that the project had a 100 per cent satisfaction rate, and over 560 students have benefited from the changes to the school program arising from the partnership. Achievement levels have been much higher in the 2009 cohort, which has been exposed to the new programs, and there has been an increase of nearly 30 per cent in student enrolment in the BEAST faculty.
The partnership with ThomsonAdsett Architects continues and the school has established other partnerships with specialists in the fields of town planning and engineering. Partnerships have also been developed with leading universities to allow students to study first year Engineering and Architecture subjects and fast track their careers. The award funds will enhance the sustainability of the project by providing teacher relief time to expand the partnership, and to purchase equipment which will be needed to cope with the increased demand within the school for study within the BEAST faculty.
