Before I was Australia’s chief scientist, I nearly dropped out
As Australia’s former chief scientist, you might be surprised to know that I had moments at university when I wondered: Can I do this and finish my degree?
As Australia’s former chief scientist, you might be surprised to know that I had moments at university when I wondered: Can I do this and finish my degree?
I was fortunate to have people around me who helped me through those moments. Some of that support was informal: encouragement from colleagues, mentors and peers, and people who reminded me that I could succeed.
At the time, I didn't think much about how important that support was. Looking back, I know it made a difference.
Today, we understand much more about the barriers that can make it harder for people to stay in STEM, and the difference targeted support can make.
That matters because Australia needs more people with STEM skills. We cannot afford to lose passionate people simply because they lack the financial, personal or professional support they need to complete their studies.
I was reminded of this recently when I spoke to students at a Canberra high school during National Science Week. Some were contemplating university and considering whether a career in STEM might be for them.
I wanted them to know that curiosity and ability are important, but so are the people and networks around you.
The latest STEM Equity Monitor shows why this matters. While there have been some improvements in women’s participation in STEM higher education, progress remains frustratingly slow.
Between 2021 and 2024, women accounted for just 39 per cent of university STEM course completions, a proportion that remained unchanged over those four years. More than a decade earlier, women represented 38 per cent of STEM graduates.
In other words, despite years of effort to encourage more women into STEM, the proportion completing STEM qualifications has barely shifted.
We keep asking how we can get more women and gender diverse people into STEM. We should also be asking how we make sure the talented people who choose STEM have the support they need to finish. This is where targeted programs can make a difference.
Programs such as Elevate: Boosting diversity in STEM provide women and non-binary people studying STEM with more than financial support. Scholars receive wellbeing and psychosocial support, peer mentoring and skills development, creating the kind of network I was fortunate to have informally when I was a student. And there is evidence that this approach works.
Elevate has a consistent retention rate of 96 per cent, with a drop-out rate three and a half times lower the national average, and even lower when accounting for intersectional challenges.
More than 500 scholars have been supported since 2023, with more than 3,500 undergraduate applications received over the past four years.
More than one-third of Elevate scholars come from regional, rural and remote Australia, while eight per cent identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.
These aren’t abstract numbers. Behind every application is someone who has chosen STEM and is asking for the opportunity to succeed.
The program’s impact is why it was described as the gold standard for fostering gender equity in STEM in the federal government’s Pathway to Diversity in STEM Review. We should pay attention when a program is achieving results like these.
Australia’s ambition to build a Future Made in Australia depends on having the people to make that future possible. That means our STEM strategy cannot stop at encouraging people to enter university. We also need to invest in helping them complete their studies and build careers.
This is not simply a question of gender equity. It is a question of national capability.
Building the STEM workforce Australia needs is not a task for government alone. It requires universities, business, industry and government to work together. It is encouraging that industry partners, including Snowy Hydro, the Commonwealth Bank, AirTrunk and the Department of Defence are now also investing in Elevate and helping support the next generation of STEM talent.
Every talented STEM student who leaves their course because they cannot afford to continue, lacks the support they need or no longer feels they belong, represents capability Australia has invested in and then lost. We cannot afford to keep doing that.
Continuing government funding for Elevate would be a practical, evidence-based investment in the people Australia needs to deliver its Future Made in Australia.
I know from my own experience that sometimes the difference between giving up and carrying on can be a person who believes in you, a community that supports you or practical help at exactly the right moment. We now have evidence that structured support can make that difference at scale.
If Australia is serious about building a future made here, we should make sure the people who will build that future have the opportunity and the support to finish what they started.
Dr Cathy Foley AO PSM FTSE FAA is President of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering and Australia’s former Chief Scientist.
This article was originally published in InnovationAus.com.
