Forty four high achieving Australian science students and seven teachers travelled to Korea in September 2016 as part of the Joint Australian Korean High School STEM Enrichment and Engagement Program.

The program has been running successfully since 2013 and is as an extension of the US Space Academy Program, allowing Australian and Korean high school students to interact through a shared commitment to environmental and science related issues. The program also includes cultural visits to Korean schools, museums and technology centres.

The concept for the program began through discussions between KeeYoung Chung, Korean science teacher, and Ken Silburn, Australian teacher and 2015 recipient of the Prime Minister's Prize for Excellence in Secondary Science Teaching. The discussion focused on developing strategies that would allow their respective students to meet.


Initially, students were able to interact though video conferencing. In 2012, Ken travelled to Korea to visit KeeYoung and investigate the possibility of taking Australian students to Korea. The Korean Tourist Bureau assisted with a guided tour of Seoul and organised an itinerary for the visit.

'Our initial aim was to increase cultural learning of students participating in our program and as such increase the educational value of our existing program that took students to the US for the Space Academy Program in Huntsville,' explains Ken.

Highlights of the 2016 trip to Korea included visits to the Samsung Delight Centre in Gangnam, Danbrook University, the National Museum of Korea, the Korean Demilitarized Zone, and Gyeongbok Palace. Students also visited Seocheon High School where they were able to meet Korean students and discuss issues concerning sustainability and climate change.

'The highlight of the trip was definitely the personal interactions that we had with the high school students at Seocheon High School and the university students at Danbrook University,' says Ken.

'The program allows students to personally experience other cultures and reduce any stereotype conceptions that we have about each other's countries, it also fosters pride for our students to be able to talk positively about our countries.'

These early experiences may trigger students' interest in applying for a New Colombo Plan award to study and undertake internships in Korea when they are undergraduates. In 2017, the New Colombo Plan is supporting around 7,400 mobility students and 105 scholarship recipients to live, study and undertake work placements in the Indo-Pacific.

For more information about the Joint Australian Korean High School STEM Enrichment and Engagement Program visit www.spacecamp.com.au

The visit to Korea was supported by the Australia-Korea Foundation, established by the Australian Government in 1992 to promote bilateral relations between Korea and Australia.

The next grant round will open on 6 February 2017 for projects deepening connections between Australia and Korea.