Answering your Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on the AVISTA School Pathways Program
// AVISTA Program FAQs
FAQs
General
Supported by the Australian Government's Schools Pathways Program, the AVISTA School Pathways Program is a free, curriculum-linked initiative that provides students in Years 7–12 with valuable insights into STEM and defence industry careers. It explores the role of aviation, robotics, AI and autonomous systems, highlighting how these fields can lead to exciting careers in tomorrow’s advanced, high-tech industries.
The program offers:
- In-person high school STEM shows throughout Australia, including regional and rural areas.
- Engaging STEM Career Hub events.
- An interactive Virtual Reality (VR) platform.
- Real-world defence challenges for students to tackle.
- Access to online learning resources for teachers, students and families.
The program will deliver a range of exciting learning experiences to students, their teachers and families throughout 2025, to help develop Australia’s STEM talent pipeline by providing direct insights into defence industry career pathways.
The AVISTA program will be delivered in partnership with Fizzics Education, Gilmour Space Technologies, Gunggandji Aerospace, Illuminate FNQ, Joseph Banks Secondary College, Nova Systems and University of Western Australia Defence and Security Institute.
The Department of Education predicts that approximately 75% of all new jobs will require qualifications and skills in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
However, a large proportion of students are not studying STEM subjects or considering STEM related careers. Even more concerning is that 60% of young Australians are studying for jobs that will either not exist, or will be radically affected by automation in the next 10 to 15 years.
To help build a future made in Australia, the Australian Government launched the Schools Pathways Program to raise awareness of defence industry career pathways, and to encourage student participation in STEM activities and subjects.
Thanks to this initiative, we are able to deliver the AVISTA School Pathways Program to students nation-wide for free, to inspire the next generation of STEM professionals.
The AVISTA School Pathways Program is an initiative of the Australian Remote Operations for Space and Earth (AROSE).
AROSE is a leading, industry-led, not-for-profit organisation that stands at the forefront of knowledge and technology transfer between Australia’s traditional industry sectors, and the burgeoning international space sector.
AROSE brings together leading expertise and cutting-edge science and technology, for collaborations that
- Build and advocate national capability and develop future skills and workforce opportunities.
- Drive industry-led projects for solutions and applications on Earth and in space.
- Secure Australia’s role in the international space sector.
To learn more, visit the AROSE website.
We will be hosting interactive career events in Perth, Cairns and Newcastle for students and parents in collaboration with our project partners and local defence industry representatives.
More information including dates and venues will be announced in the upcoming months.
Yes, the AVISTA Program will include a vast library of online learning resources which will be available to students as well as their teachers and parents from May 2025.
This will include our interactive Virtual Reality (VR) Hub, where students will be able to learn more about STEM and defence industry careers, while engaging in real world defence industry challenges such as flight and aircraft maintenance.
We will also be offering tailored resources for Teacher Professional Development.
Yes, the AVISTA School Pathways Program is aligned with the ACARA 7-10 Curriculum, as well as state based Syllabuses. Full details of the program's curriculum links can be found here.
Defence Industry is not the Army, Navy or Air Force. It is the industry that provides products or services that are, or can be adapted to be used in the Australian Department of Defence supply chain and/or an international defence supply chain.
The Defence Industry in Australia is made up of many companies, big and small, that employ thousands of people in diverse roles.
The Defence Industry offers a wide variety of exciting career opportunities, including:
Project Manager | Communications Technician | Naval Architect | Software/AT Developer |
Systems Designer | ICT Support Technician | Logistics Coordinator | Product Tester |
Mechanic | Cybersecurity Specialist | Field Medical Officer | Clothing Production Technician |
Rescue Operations Expert | Industrial Designer | Biomedical Engineer | CAD (Computer Aided Design) Designer |
UX/UI Designer (User Experience / Interface) | Remote Healthcare Expert | Materials Engineer | Artist |
Structural Engineer | Military Advisor | Mechanical Engineer | Electrical Engineer |
Welder | Sensor Specialist | Naval Architect | Data Analyst |
Electronics Technician | Procurement Manager | Electrician | Telecommunications Specialist |
Textile/Fashion Designer | Scheduler | Environmental Scientist | Robotics Engineer |
AVISTA School Shows
The AVISTA Show is a free, in-person science and STEM career show which will be delivered by our program partner, Fizzics Education, to over 200 high schools across Australia (including rural and regional areas).
To find out more about the show, click here.
Our AVISTA Shows are open to all Australian High Schools, including those in remote and regional areas. To register your school, click here.
Fizzics Education is a proud partner of the AVISTA program and will be delivering our free in-school shows around Australia.
As a leading provider of interactive STEM workshops, shows and teacher professional development programs since 2004, Fizzics Education has reached several million students across Australia and beyond.
You can find our AVISTA Show touring schedule here.
Our AVISTA School Shows are free of charge. To register your school, click here.
Unfortunately, our AVISTA program is designed for high school students, as the concepts it covers are more advanced than what is typically taught at the primary school level.
The show is targeted at Years 9-10, but can be delivered to Years 7-12.
We will do our best to accommodate as many of your students as we can, pending the space in your school and timetable restrictions.
To confirm suitability for your high school, please contact our team.
Yes! We are proud to be delivering our AVISTA School Shows Australia-wide, including to high schools in regional and remote areas.
To register your school for a Free Show, click here.
Unfortunately, our in-person shows are touring high schools only.
However, in the coming months the AVISTA Program will release online learning resources and exciting interactive challenges that will be open to all Australian students, parents and teachers.
For more information, please contact us.
We will require the following for the AVISTA Show:
- Presentation space that is undercover, preferably indoors, as we need control of the lighting and any wind could disrupt the demonstrations.
- 2 - 3 trestle tables. If this is not possible, please let us know via email 2 weeks in advance.
- Parking space near the presentation location. Our presenter has a considerable amount of gear, so please ensure access to adequate parking to avoid delays.
- Access to the presentation space 45 minutes prior to the show to set up, and an additional 45 minutes after to pack up.
- Isolated fire alarms as the show will include demonstrations using fire. In the instance where a school is unable to isolate the alarm, the fire demonstration cannot go ahead.
The AVISTA Show features a demonstration that uses fire to demonstrate propulsion. This is called a Whoosh Bottle and involves lighting a small amount of a flammable liquid mixed with oxygen in a large container. It produces heat but not smoke.
We request that the alarms are isolated so that we do not accidentally trigger an alarm. If you cannot isolate the alarms, our presenter my choose to omit the demonstration from the show.
A darkened room can help your students see some of the demonstrations more clearly. The show can still go ahead if there is no way of darkening the room.
Please find important documents, forms and information for your AVISTA School Show visit here.
Yes, all of our AVISTA School Show presenters have current Working with Children Checks (WWCC). These will be supplied to your school two weeks before our visit.
AVISTA Challenge
The AVISTA Challenge is a problem-based challenge designed for Australian students in years 7-10. It places them in a real-world planning scenario, working in teams to find the best solution to the problem.
Find out more here.
The AVISTA Challenge has been created as part of the Department of Defence School Pathways Program to help develop Australia’s STEM talent pipeline by providing direct insights into Defence Industry career pathways.
The AVISTA Challenge has been created by AROSE in partnership with Nova Systems Australia, with input from teachers across the country.
Students in Years 7 -10 who are enrolled in an Australian school or educated at home, and who are participating as part of a team. For more details, refer to our Terms and Conditions.
The AVISTA Challenge has a $10,000 Prize Pool! More details about prizes can be found here or in the Terms and Conditions.
Registration Deadline: Friday, 17 October 2025, 5:00PM AEST.
Submission Deadline: Friday, 7 November 2025, 5:00PM AEST.
Winners Announced: Wednesday, 26 November 2025.
The AVISTA Challenge is fully resourced, with ongoing support from the AVISTA Team throughout the year:
- Teacher Resource Pack
- Student Worksheets and Resources
- Additional explainer content for science learning gaps
- Teacher Professional Learning, and assistance available via email
- By-request Virtual Incursions with “The Commander” and other AVISTA team members
The Teacher Resource Pack and Student Resources will be emailed to you once you sign up for the Challenge.
Register for the AVISTA Challenge here.
Yes! We have endeavored to design this challenge so that it can be accessed by students from across Australia, regardless of resourcing. Most of our resources are available by PDF download, however if you need more assistance accessing resources, please email us – we will get you the resources by any means we can, even if we have to print and post them ourselves! We are also happy to discuss alternative submission formats if your school requires them.
Start with our Teacher Resource Pack and go from there.
The Teacher Resource Pack is a comprehensive overview of the challenge and how to implement it in your classroom, as well as a guide to all the student resources we have created.
There is also a series of Professional Learning sessions to support you and your students through the Challenge.
To receive your Teacher Resource Pack, make sure to first sign up for the AVISTA Challenge.
