Our learning support and mentoring programs in 90 Australian communities directly help children in need achieve their goals through education.
View all programs Where digital technology can take Australian children
01 November 2022
In today’s world, digital literacy is fundamental to success in education and employment. Young Australians from families experiencing disadvantage have significantly less access to digital technology, support and training. As a result, those students are not prepared for the jobs of the future.
The Smith Family Young ICT Explorers Accelerator program started in 2019 to tackle this problem. Thanks to your generous support, we have worked with students from 40 partner schools this year to help them overcome the barriers poverty puts in their way.
The Smith Family Young ICT Explorers Accelerator program started in 2019 to tackle this problem. Thanks to your generous support, we have worked with students from 40 partner schools this year to help them overcome the barriers poverty puts in their way.
This highly effective program provides students with opportunities to explore their STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) capabilities.
In this program, students work to design, build and submit projects to the national Young ICT Explorers competition. Participating students are encouraged to solve real-world problems using technology. Thanks to you, 341 students in 2021 received access to IT resources and training and mentoring from industry experts via the program. This helped students elevate their capabilities and confidence in STEM-related disciplines.
Jemmah, a teacher from one of our partner schools, has witnessed extraordinary achievements from students we support. These students have represented their schools in this competition after participating in The Smith Family’s Young ICT Accelerator Program.
“These aren’t projects for the sake of projects. Students are developing solutions to real-world problems. By learning to communicate and collaborate as they bring their projects to life, they are gaining the confidence they’ll need in high school and later life,” says Jemmah.
“Throughout their life, they’ll be able to say, ‘Wait, I’ve done this sort of thing before. I’ve got this,’ and apply that knowledge to anything.”
Thanks to your generous support, students can discover a passion for technology and learn the skills that will hold them in good stead for future jobs as a Young ICT Explorer.
In this program, students work to design, build and submit projects to the national Young ICT Explorers competition. Participating students are encouraged to solve real-world problems using technology. Thanks to you, 341 students in 2021 received access to IT resources and training and mentoring from industry experts via the program. This helped students elevate their capabilities and confidence in STEM-related disciplines.
Jemmah, a teacher from one of our partner schools, has witnessed extraordinary achievements from students we support. These students have represented their schools in this competition after participating in The Smith Family’s Young ICT Accelerator Program.
“These aren’t projects for the sake of projects. Students are developing solutions to real-world problems. By learning to communicate and collaborate as they bring their projects to life, they are gaining the confidence they’ll need in high school and later life,” says Jemmah.
“Throughout their life, they’ll be able to say, ‘Wait, I’ve done this sort of thing before. I’ve got this,’ and apply that knowledge to anything.”
Thanks to your generous support, students can discover a passion for technology and learn the skills that will hold them in good stead for future jobs as a Young ICT Explorer.
I think it was a very fun program for kids that want to learn about technology and also just to have fun it also helped with learning about friendship and teamwork this is why I give this program 5 star review.
