Inspiring
Equity
in STEM.

The SISTA Project addressed a documented equity gap: girls in regional and remote Australia — particularly those facing intersectional disadvantage through geographic isolation, low school resourcing, First Nations backgrounds, and limited exposure to female STEM professionals — were significantly less likely to engage with STEM education or consider STEM careers.

SEG Australia's response was a multi-layered, evidence-based program combining subsidised face-to-face science incursions, national digital broadcasting, a multi-year School Partnership Program, and a team of diverse female science educators deployed as visible, relatable role models. Delivery partner Street Science executed 231,337 student engagements across all Australian states and territories.

Initial market research identified teacher confidence as the most significant barrier to improved STEM outcomes (cited by 86–90% of school leaders). The program was specifically redesigned mid-stream to address this through professional development, curriculum-linked Classroom Kits, and an Extended Learning Portal now used by over 950 educators nationally.

The SISTA Project was designed from the outset to remove location as a barrier to STEM education. With custom-fitted touring vehicles, subsidised travel, and national digital broadcasting infrastructure, Street Science reached communities across every state and territory.

Regional and remote tours covered Far North Queensland (including Burketown and Cairns), Central Queensland, the Mackay-Isaac region, the Darling Downs, the Northern Territory (including Kalkaringi), and metropolitan centres in Victoria and NSW. Six regional schools have now received face-to-face tours in two consecutive years. Eight toured schools have joined the multi-year Partnership Program.

SEG's partnership with the QUT Oodgeroo Indigenous Unit — which provided Classroom Kits and trained 30 First Nations ambassadors to deliver STEM workshops in remote schools — extended culturally responsive reach beyond Street Science's own touring capacity.

The SISTA Project demonstrated that high-volume engagement can build enthusiasm and confidence at scale. But Round 4 evaluation also identified a critical gap: girls were not receiving structured support at the transition points where they most often disengage — senior primary, subject selection in Years 8–10, and the senior secondary to university transition.

Round 5 responds directly to this evidence. Rather than maximising volume alone, the four-year National Pathways Initiative shifts to system-embedded change: strengthening inclusive STEM practice within schools, and creating visible, accessible pathways from early engagement through to tertiary study and careers.

The program will engage at least 120,000 girls across Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria through an in-person model, with national reach via digital delivery. Co-design has already been undertaken with Somerville House (Brisbane) across primary STEM leadership, senior science, and careers departments — and with the QUT Oodgeroo Indigenous Unit for culturally inclusive content design.