Order of Australia Award For Mr Myers REA Chariman and Founder

Wysiwyg 3D would like to congratulate Mr Michael Myers on receving the prestigious Order of Australia Medal on Australia Day 2012.
ENGINEER WHO INSPIRES YOUNG AUSTRALIANS TO TAKE ON THE WORLD IS HONOURED WITH AUSTRALIA DAY AWARD.
The Founder and Chairman  Re-Engineering Australia Foundation, Michael Myers, has today received the Order of Australia Medal (OAM) in recognition for his work with students over the past 14 years to raise up a new generation of innovators and technicians with a “No-one said we couldn’t” attitude.
 
From humble beginnings when the Sydney Engineer looked for an opportunity to “put something back” and to ensure that the next generation contributes to Australia remaining a sought after innovator in the Global Village, Mr Myers has seen REA Foundation influence hundreds of thousands of young people from Thursday Island to Tasmania and across to Perth.
 
“I knew instinctively that applied learning programs would be far more successful than just textbooks in the classroom. I wanted to give young people the same tools that are used in industry. I believed that it was important for students to have a real-world experience.”
 
“I dared to adopt a peer-mentoring and teaching method which is very different from conventional classroom learning. It has become commonplace to see students wanting to work before and after school and during their holidays. As they meet each new challenge they are directed back to their textbooks to seek the solutions. All of a sudden, maths and science become ‘cool’.”
 
Mr Myers has conducted extensive research into the motivational drivers of children’s career decision choices. His findings have been tabled as a thesis on the subject which throws a spanner in the works and flies in the face of convention when it come to how we should be teaching boys as compared to girls,
 
“We have made a paradigm shift of 6 years in the education process. Young high school students in our programs have an amazing ability to understand complex engineering principles. They are able to achieve so much with so little, so when we give them the best tools in the world they become the best students in the word. When they present to university engineering students they often have to explain what they have learned because the topic they now learn in school aren’t covered until the second or third year at university.”
 
Other recognition for REA has included the Prime Minister’s Award for Skills Excellence, Engineers Australia Engineering Excellence Award, Engineers Australia National Presidents Award, Warren Centre for Advanced Engineering Medal for Outstanding Contribution to Engineering, Association of Consulting Engineers Presidents Award for Outstanding Contribution to Consulting Engineering, the Smart State Science Award and Peter Doherty Science Award.
“We are developing careers that build a nation”, says Mr Myers, “Accountants, lawyers and economists live in the past. Engineers, architects and scientists all live in the future. They take an idea and turn it into reality – for the betterment of society. We focus on motivating students into careers that build a nation”
 
Apart from current national sponsor, the Defence Materiel Organisation, the REA Foundation has been predominantly financed by Mr Myers’ own business interests. He says the defence industry will involve many of the biggest engineering projects in the nation and the DMO provides exciting opportunities for engineers, technicians, scientists and manufacturers.
 
“My biggest disappointment has been the lack of support for our work by Education Ministers both federally and at a state level. They appear stuck in the bureaucracy of the past, unwilling to take a leadership position when it comes to educating our children. It is time we started Re-Engineered the education system for the betterment of our children. Its time there were more Engineers in Government … focused on our future not our past.”
“My goal is to influence one million plus students each year being inspired to learn science and maths and being encouraged to take on the world. It is a great honour to be recognised on Australia Day but I am keen to turn this recognition into a catalyst to engender further support for inspiring young people from kindergarten all the way through to university to innovate.”
 
About REA
Re-Engineering Australia Foundation (REA), was established in 1998 by Michael Myers, an engineer, businessman and passionate Australian. REA’s objectives are to encourage student interest and understanding of Science Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM) careers. REA’s revolutionary programs link schools, industry, TAFE, Universities and parents in a collaborative environment focused on changing the metaphor of the education process. More than 35,000 students are mentored each year by the organisation with another 300,000 benefiting from the outcomes. REA’s goal is to equip these children with the skills and knowledge to allow them to take on the world. REA has received a great deal of recognition for its work including the Prime Minister’s Award for Skills Excellence, Engineers Australia Engineering Excellence Award, Engineers Australia National Presidents Award, Warren Centre for Advanced Engineering Medal for Outstanding Contribution to Engineering, Association of Consulting Engineers Presidents Award for Outstanding Contribution to Consulting Engineering, the Smart State Science Award and Peter Doherty Science Award.
contact@rea.org.au
1300 204 478
 
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