This announcement was originally published by Science & Technology Australia.
These STEM Ambassadors represent 16 different electorates across Australia and have been matched with MPs from across the country and the political spectrum who have expressed a desire to build stronger scientific networks.
Among those announced was ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology's Chief Investigator Professor Rachel Burton, a plant biologist from the University of Adelaide. She will represent the electorate of Mayo, South Australia.
STA President Associate Professor Jeremy Brownlie said that the STEM Ambassador Program encourages the involvement of science in Australian politics and aims to put science and evidence-based policy on the national agenda.
“The STEM Ambassador Program is vital to forging relationships between science and parliament,” he said.
“STA advocates for evidence-based, science-informed policy, and the STEM Ambassador Program helps to connect our national decision-makers with scientific experts who can give them direct access to research, data and evidence.”
Each Ambassador will meet regularly with their local MP to build associations between parliament and the broader STEM sector. It enables federal politicians to gain a deeper understanding of the potential impact of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in Australia.
“It’s brilliant to see so many of federal parliamentarians involved in the program and keen to know more about the science and technology happening in their own back yards,” Associate Professor Brownlie said.
“Australia’s STEM professionals play an incredibly important role in shaping Australia’s health and wellbeing, economic prosperity and environmental sustainability. This program empowers our highly skilled STEM workforce to make positive change and use their work to help build better policy and shape Australia’s future.”
The STEM Ambassador program builds on the successful 2019 pilot program and brings the total number of STA STEM Ambassadors to 23 across Australia.
The latest cohort of STEM Ambassadors come from a wide range of science, technology, and engineering mathematics professions, representing a range of sectors.