Two patients from The Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) will use new laptops to see if they can gain pole position in The Schools Innovation Design Challenge.
Mikael Lawford and Shea James will design, build, test and race a model F1 car as part of state, national and international competitions.
Mickael, 14, lives in Echuca and 13-year-old Shea in Launceston.
The two boys, who have spent time at hospital dealing with leukeamia and bone marrow transplants, are competing in the design challenge as a RCH team.
Staff from the RCH Education Institute have been working with the students to help them continue their education while they undergo treatment at the hospital.
The Education Institute provides education liaison services for children and young people at RCH and also works on research, evaluation and associated professional development.
Manufacturing and Exports Minister Andre Haermeyer presented the laptops to the students and their families at the Education Institute on Thursday 16 February.
RCH Education Institute Executive Director Margaret Robertson said the laptops would enable the students to form their own online community.
“The group can go online to discuss their designs and how they are proceeding, it’s a great opportunity for them to remain connected to learning,” Ms Robertson said.
She said the project was ongoing and the computers allowed the students to continue developing their ideas outside of school and communicate regularly even though they lived in different areas.
“Working with the new software and developing the skills needed to take part in the design challenge is an ideal example of what can be done to help students maintain their education in conjunction with their medical treatment,” she said.
“We are looking forward to seeing what the team develops, their enthusiasm and commitment to the design challenge is a real inspiration.”
As soon as the students have been shown how to use the computer aided drafting software, they will start developing the model.
The computers, software and website links have been donated to the group by Re-Engineering Australia, IBM and Telstra.
The Education Institute has been actively involved with Victoria University and Re-Engineering Australia in the design challenge.
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