Latest news with #WesternSydney
ABC News
a day ago
- Science
- ABC News
High school students introduced to robotics to encourage STEM careers
Ahmad Elbashety would be finished his schooling by now, but had to flee his home in Gaza during his final year of study. After a year he describes as being extremely hard and uncertain, he was able to come to Australia and recommence his schooling. Joining year 10 at Bankstown Senior College in Sydney's south-west, Ahmad has taken part in a study that teaches high school students coding and robotics. He says the program has given him a career to aspire to and something to focus on. "I didn't know much about robotics or programming, but now I really enjoy it," Ahmad said. He is one of 40 year 10 students in a program run by Australian Catholic University (ACU) that has targeted students from low socio-economic and refugee backgrounds. The new study is examining whether teaching students coding and robotics can spark a sustained interest in STEM. Students from schools in Western Sydney were given a week-long crash course learning how to operate a robot using easy-to-learn drag-and-drop blocks of code on an electronic tablet. Caroline Chisholm College student Aliyah Chilly said the course was the first time she had used coding to drive a robot. She said the drag-and-drop block coding was easy to use for a beginner. "The blocks are made for you, you've just got to fill in the information like degrees, the speed and how far you want it [the car] to go," Aliyah said. Following the week-long course, the students were given a tablet and a robot and will respond to surveys and complete tasks over the next nine months to see if they still have that interest. A federal government education grant funded the tablets and robots. ACU associate professor of IT Walayat Hussain said jobs of the future would demand knowledge of how to work with robots. "You can see AI has been embedded everywhere," Dr Hussain said. Dr Hussain is running the study along with Dr Mehdi Rajaeian and Dr Mahmoud Bekhit. They are managing the project in their spare time. Dr Hussain said that without training in AI and robotics, young people could face reduced job prospects in their future. "I believe that every human should have equal access to this technology," he said. National figures show STEM education outcomes have been slow to progress in recent years. The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority found only 57 per cent of year 6 students attained the science proficiency standard in 2023. In 2006, just 54 per cent of year 6 students attained the standard. Progress on attaining science proficiency standards has also been slow among year 10 students. Just 54 per cent of year 10 students met the standard in 2023, compared to 50 per cent in 2018. The researchers hope programs like this could help turn figures like these around. The study's first week may have already inspired some interest in STEM careers. Ahmad hopes he can get a university scholarship and continue studying engineering. St Agnes Catholic student Isabella Sukkarieh wants to become a biomedical or industrial engineer. "I will need to design products and then I'll need to use programs like the ones we're using here to show, basically, proof that the product works," Isabella said. Meanwhile, Caroline Chisholm College student Aliyah Chilly is interested in bringing her knowledge of robotics to child care to introduce the skills to an even younger generation than hers. "I feel like it's something important for kids to experience," Aliyah said.
ABC News
7 days ago
- ABC News
Woman pepper sprayed by police during mental health welfare check says officers 'should have just left'
A woman who is suing the State of NSW over the actions of police officers who pepper sprayed her during a welfare check has insisted she did not act aggressively towards them "in any way". Police attended the then-48-year-old's Western Sydney home in September 2021 after they were alerted to a reference to self harm she made on the phone to an insurance company. The NSW District Court has heard that after being told she may be liable for $150,000 in damages from a police pursuit involving her son, she told a representative words to the effect of "I might as well just kill myself". But she has given evidence that she called back and told the representative she did not mean it. In footage from police body-worn cameras, the officers are heard telling the woman's ex-partner, who was at the house at the time, that they might need to take her to hospital under the Mental Health Act. They tell the man that if they are not able to speak with her at the door, they will force entry. The woman's lawyers say that from a balcony above, she had told them she was fine and to "f*** off". Some officers entered by kicking the front door, while others scaled the balcony and went in through an unlocked bedroom, tasering her American Staffy. That began a search which ultimately lasted for some 45 minutes and at one point involved a police helicopter. The court heard she had run through a back door and was hiding in a neighbour's garden shed. In defence documents, the State argues "no more than reasonable force was used during and following the plaintiff's detention", and barrister Matthew Gollan has told the judge the officers held a genuine belief the woman may have attempted to kill or injure herself. Today, he cross-examined the plaintiff about the immediate lead-up to a burst of pepper spray — which was not recorded on the bodycam footage. "Before the spray was used, when you pushed open the [shed] door, did you do that because you wanted to hide somewhere else?" he asked. "No, I think I went into distress … I just wanted to be left alone, I was not suicidal in any way," the woman replied. When asked whether police told her to get on the ground, she replied: "I think so". Mr Gollan: "And you didn't?" Plaintiff: "I don't recall that, I don't remember that." Mr Gollan: "You stood your ground, somewhat defiantly?" Plaintiff: "I was never aggressive to them." Mr Gollan: "You weren't responsive to them, were you?" Plaintiff: "Because I was in distress." Mr Gollan: "You defiantly stood your ground, didn't you?" Plaintiff: "No, I didn't." During the cross-examination, the woman said that to have multiple police officers and a helicopter involved in the incident meant "all my neighbours looked at me like I was a murderer". "Someone with mental health [issues], and you're supposed to trust the people in blue, why would they pepper spray me?" she said. The woman has also expressed that she was fearful of police as a result of previous interactions, and felt that they had not "helped me much". Large parts of the cross-examination involved detailed questions about the woman's mental health, which she said she was aware of as an issue since 2016. But she told the judge that before the welfare check incident: "I was pretty good, like I was sad, but I was pretty good". Mr Gollan suggested that as early as 2016, she had been urged to seek psychiatric help, but she disagreed that she had ever received a referral. The hearing continues on Thursday.
The Australian
7 days ago
- Sport
- The Australian
Kosta Barbarouses happy with move to Western Sydney
New Western Sydney signing Kosta Barbarouses says there are 'promising signs' for the Wanderers after a successful start to their 2025-26 campaign. Despite a limited preparation, the Wanderers were far too good for NPL Queensland outfit Peninsula Power in Tuesday night's Australia Cup battle at AJ Kelly Park, winning 3-0 to progress to the competition's round-of-16. Veteran attacker Barbarouses scored in his Wanderers debut after joining the club in the off-season from Wellington Phoenix. 'I think we showed a lot of promise in our combinations,' said the 35-year-old New Zealand international after embarking on his stint with a fifth A-League club. 'At times, you could see how dangerous we can be, especially considering most of us have only been working together for a couple of weeks. 'There's plenty of room for improvement, but there were really promising signs. I'm pretty pleased with the performance tonight.' Barbarouses was part of a new look Wanderers forward line alongside fellow off-season signing, ex-Central Coast Mariners striker Alou Kuol, following the departures of Nicolas Milanovic (Aberdeen, Scotland), Zac Sapsford (Dundee United) and Marcus Antonsson (IFK Varnamo, Sweden). The Wanderers squad also includes Socceroos forward Brandon Borrello, who didn't play in Tuesday night's win, which also included a brace from Bulgarian international Bozhidar Kraev. Spanish star Juan Mata, whose Wanderers contract expired at the end of last season, remains in Europe and is still deciding whether to accept Western Sydney's offer of a new deal. Marco Monteverde Sports reporter Marco Monteverde is a Brisbane-based sports reporter for NCA Newswire. He worked in a similar role for The Courier-Mail from 2007 to 2020. During a journalism career of more than 25 years, he has also worked for The Queensland Times, The Sunshine Coast Daily, The Fraser Coast Chronicle and The North West Star. He has covered three FIFA World Cups and the 2000 Sydney Olympics, as well as a host of other major sporting events in Australia and around the world. @marcothejourno Marco Monteverde
Sky News AU
7 days ago
- Sport
- Sky News AU
Kosta Barbarouses happy with move to Western Sydney
New Western Sydney signing Kosta Barbarouses says there are 'promising signs' for the Wanderers after a successful start to their 2025-26 campaign. Despite a limited preparation, the Wanderers were far too good for NPL Queensland outfit Peninsula Power in Tuesday night's Australia Cup battle at AJ Kelly Park, winning 3-0 to progress to the competition's round-of-16. Veteran attacker Barbarouses scored in his Wanderers debut after joining the club in the off-season from Wellington Phoenix. 'I think we showed a lot of promise in our combinations,' said the 35-year-old New Zealand international after embarking on his stint with a fifth A-League club. 'At times, you could see how dangerous we can be, especially considering most of us have only been working together for a couple of weeks. 'There's plenty of room for improvement, but there were really promising signs. I'm pretty pleased with the performance tonight.' Barbarouses was part of a new look Wanderers forward line alongside fellow off-season signing, ex-Central Coast Mariners striker Alou Kuol, following the departures of Nicolas Milanovic (Aberdeen, Scotland), Zac Sapsford (Dundee United) and Marcus Antonsson (IFK Varnamo, Sweden). The Wanderers squad also includes Socceroos forward Brandon Borrello, who didn't play in Tuesday night's win, which also included a brace from Bulgarian international Bozhidar Kraev. Spanish star Juan Mata, whose Wanderers contract expired at the end of last season, remains in Europe and is still deciding whether to accept Western Sydney's offer of a new deal. Originally published as Kosta Barbarouses has high hopes for Western Sydney Wanderers after winning debut
News.com.au
7 days ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
Kosta Barbarouses has high hopes for Western Sydney Wanderers after winning debut
New Western Sydney signing Kosta Barbarouses says there are 'promising signs' for the Wanderers after a successful start to their 2025-26 campaign. Despite a limited preparation, the Wanderers were far too good for NPL Queensland outfit Peninsula Power in Tuesday night's Australia Cup battle at AJ Kelly Park, winning 3-0 to progress to the competition's round-of-16. Veteran attacker Barbarouses scored in his Wanderers debut after joining the club in the off-season from Wellington Phoenix. 'I think we showed a lot of promise in our combinations,' said the 35-year-old New Zealand international after embarking on his stint with a fifth A-League club. 'At times, you could see how dangerous we can be, especially considering most of us have only been working together for a couple of weeks. 'There's plenty of room for improvement, but there were really promising signs. I'm pretty pleased with the performance tonight.' Through to the Round of 16 ðŸ¤� #WSW — WS Wanderers FC (@wswanderersfc) July 22, 2025 Barbarouses was part of a new look Wanderers forward line alongside fellow off-season signing, ex-Central Coast Mariners striker Alou Kuol, following the departures of Nicolas Milanovic (Aberdeen, Scotland), Zac Sapsford (Dundee United) and Marcus Antonsson (IFK Varnamo, Sweden). The Wanderers squad also includes Socceroos forward Brandon Borrello, who didn't play in Tuesday night's win, which also included a brace from Bulgarian international Bozhidar Kraev. Spanish star Juan Mata, whose Wanderers contract expired at the end of last season, remains in Europe and is still deciding whether to accept Western Sydney's offer of a new deal.
