Regioneering

After our successful Regioneering Program in Summer 2023, we look forwards to the next Regioneering Program!

For the uninitiated, Regioneering is a week-long road trip held during the uni holidays, where in teams you will present engineering workshops to students across regional Victoria. It is a great way to create a positive impact, make new friends, learn valuable presentation and teaching skills, and most of all have a heap of fun!

Stay tuned and keep an eye out for the next round of Regioneering by following us on our Facebook page and Instagram! In the meantime, complete the online training and obtain your WWCC, and participate in Metroneering to gain experience!

Our Aims

The Regioneering program brings interactive, hands-on workshops focused on sustainability and problem solving to students in regional Victoria. With these workshops we aim to:

Expose students to what engineering is and promote it as a humanitarian profession.
Excite students about the opportunities available through STEM careers.
Encourage students from regional areas to consider University or TAFE.
Show that engineering is a rewarding career for people of all genders and backgrounds.

Why should you get involved?

The volunteers who go on Regioneering absolutely love it! Some of the things volunteers like about Regioneering are:

Making a difference in society and opening students’ eyes to the possibilities of engineering.
Road tripping and getting to see regional Victoria.
Meeting and making friends with other humanitarian engineers from different disciplines and year levels.
Hanging out as a group, going on walks, having communal dinners and playing board games.
Acting as a role model to show that women can be engineers too.
Getting volunteering experience and hours for awards and employment opportunities.
Getting to practice public speaking, and developing teamwork and communication skills.

How does it work?

Before the Trip

Applications and Selection: Applications will open during mid semester and close by the end of Week 12. We will be looking for volunteers who are keen and will do their best to make a difference with the students. Selection can be competitive - the best way to ensure your spot is to be involved with metro. workshops before the trip.

Working With Children Check: The main thing we need you to do before the trip is get a working with children check. Details on how to obtain this are found on our online training, which you should also complete!

Training Day: We will prepare you for how to best run the workshops and connect with students, as well as running through what will happen on the trip and organising some logistics. This is also a great day to meet your fellow volunteers.

On the Trip

Road Tripping: You will be organised into teams of 4 or 5. As a team, each day you will drive to your assigned schools, run your workshops and then get back on the road to our accommodation for the night. A good team playlist is essential! We will be hiring cars for the trip and will need two drivers per team to ensure driving is shared.

Workshops: The workshops we run are all a presentation followed by a hands-on activity. We pose a global problem such as maternal health, appropriate housing or clean water and the students will do an activity related to this.

All teams will have an experienced volunteer who will initially present the workshops, but you are encouraged to have a go at this as you get more comfortable throughout the week. Tasks during workshops include setting up materials, running the activity shop, talking to students about their designs and encouraging them to consider different options / think more deeply. Each day you will run anywhere from two to six workshops. We aim to even it out so that you will have plenty of workshops but also get some downtime. Expect to be running workshops for about four hours a day.

Accommodation and Food: Accommodation will be cabins in caravan parks. We all stay at the same accommodation each night, so there will be plenty of opportunity to mix with people outside your team. We cook dinner together and in the past have had BBQ's,pasta and tacos, but it’s up to the people on the trip. Everyone will be expected to pitch in and help with cooking or doing dishes. Breakfast and lunch is dealt with within your own teams - often you will be on the go so sandwiches are a good option or you might end up sampling the pies on offer at one of Victoria’s many regional bakeries.

Activities and Rest Day: Wednesday is a rest day. This is your chance to relax, recharge and mingle with the other volunteers. Activities such as bush walking or seeing nature are common. Board games are also a common nightly activity, which are a great way for everyone to get involved with one another. On days when your team finishes early you are free to roam the countryside and visit anything in the area that you find of interest.

Testimonials

Ivy

“What I liked about Regioneering was meeting and inspiring students from rural schools about engineering. But also - most importantly - meeting other engineering students, bonding and doing awesome activities together.”

Kelvin

“Through Regioneering, I met a group of amazing engineering students with a common goal; to give back to the community through engineering workshops to both primary and high school students. I learned a lot about teamwork, time management, and giving presentations through Regioneering. Giving presentations to high schoolers isn’t quite the same as giving one to your fellow classmates. I liked the purpose of Regioneering as well as getting to know my fellow volunteers. The whole trip was amazing as it gave volunteers a great opportunity to unwind from a stressful semester while at the same time, helping the community. I would definitely recommend Regioneering to everyone.”

Zoe

“Regioneering allowed me to take on new challenges, practice and develop confidence, leadership and teamwork and collaborative skills, and make a difference in the community. Most importantly, I became part of a community and made wonderful friendships with the other Regioneer volunteers.”

Max

“Regioneering is a great way to engage with and make some amazing new friends with students from all over the School of Engineering. It’s an incredibly rewarding and fun experience and you'll get to visit some truly beautiful parts of Rural Victoria. I would highly recommend Regioneering to anyone that can go.”

Feedback drawings from the students

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