Manufacturing news briefs — stories you might have missed

Nova Systems marks 2,700 technical professionals receiving skills training

Test and Evaluation (T&E) registered training organisation (RTO) Nova Systems announced on Tuesday that it had passed a milestone of more than 2,700 Australian technical professionals having made it through the company’s short training courses. According to the company, the milestone is “yet another example of Nova Systems’ ongoing commitment to foster, develop and mature sovereign T&E capability and deliver a highly skilled and competent Australian T&E workforce that can support current and future needs”. The company offers the nationally recognised Certificate IV in T&E and Diploma of T&E, which provides practitioners with the knowledge and skills required and incorporates the latest defence policies, processes and operational framework, and it has delivered these courses to a professionals across defence, including the Australian Army, Royal Australian Navy and Royal Australian Air Force.

Gilmour Space Technologies working with composites

Rocket developer Gilmour Space Technologies is busy at its South East Queensland facility developing numerous systems for its planned low cost hybrid engine rockets. Gilmour took to social media to say: “Lots happening #behindthescenes at Gilmour. Thought we’d share a quick snapshot (main picture) from our composites team getting a rocket nozzle mould cured in an autoclave (a kind of pressurised oven) just down the road at Craig International Ballistics.” Gilmour is a venture-backed Australian rocket company developing new capabilities for launching small satellites to space. Craig International Ballistics is a leading supplier of ballistic protection to the Australian Defence Force and Police Forces.

Stem Punks and Lockheed Martin back STEM learning

Lockheed Martin Australia and STEM Punks have marked a key milestone of their ongoing relationship, with the launch during August of a space-focused educational programme. Launched at Armidale Secondary College in New South Wales, with many others planned ahead, the flagship STEM learning initiative will deliver school curricula designed to educate, upskill and inspire Australia’s future space workforce. The two-day intensive education experience involved 150 students across years 7 to 10 learning new STEM skills in radio frequency communications and coding through a mix of online and face-to-face modules.
Armidale Secondary College is located near Lockheed Martin’s Tracking, Telemetry and Command (TT&C) ground station at Uralla, where the company has been supporting satellites in orbit for over 20 years. STEM Punks CEO Michael Holmstrom said: “It’s pleasing to see that STEM Punks’ program, which included vital industry input from Lockheed Martin Australia, resonated so deeply with Armidale’s students,” said , and co-founder. Over the life of this partnership, STEM Punks will engage a diverse array of students in 80 primary and secondary schools across Australia.”

ATSE calls for resilience in infrastructure to avert climate risks

The Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE) has called for resilience to be built into the planning for all future Australian infrastructure. Marking International Disaster Reduction Day, the Academy said that urgent planning across transport, energy, water, social, waste and digital infrastructure is needed to future-proof supply chains, national security, environmental sustainability and economic prosperity. ATSE President, Professor Hugh Bradlow FTSE said: “The location, timing and severity of bushfires, cyclones, storms, floods and heat waves are highly uncertain – and the degrees of uncertainty and severity are set to increase due to climate change. Our goal must be to establish resilient systems. Therefore, a more comprehensive approach to infrastructure system adaptation is necessary and the best chances for doing so are at the design stages of infrastructure projects.” An ATSE position statement said that achieving resilience relies on infrastructure to be designed to include robustness, redundancy, resourcefulness, and rapid recovery.

ARC Hub for Australian Steel Innovation launches today

The Australian Research Council (ARC) Hub for Australian Steel Innovation will be officially launched in the Illawarra on Thursday at an event beginning 2 pm at the Bluescope Visitor Centre. Federal education minister Jason Clare will be joined by University of Wollongong Global Brand Ambassador Adam Gilchrist, Vice Chancellor Professor Patricia Davidson, members of the University executive, industry and university partner representatives to launch the $28 million, five-year research hub.

Qld government announces $24 million fund for startups