We are seeking expressions of interest from high schools across WA to host The Innovators’ Tea Party at your school in 2023. All of our events are focused on bringing women in STEM role models to the stage, highlighting the fantastic array of opportunities a career in STEM can offer to students of any gender.
There are 2 options to choose from – hosting an event during school hours exclusively for your students, or providing a suitable venue to host an event outside of school hours, open to the general public.
How to partner with us
The Innovators’ Tea Party is managed by a small team of women in STEM who are volunteering in their spare time outside of their day jobs as scientists, engineers & educators.
If you are interested in hosting us at your school in 2023, please read all of the information below to consider which option best suits the needs of your school. Then complete an Expression of Interest Form as soon as possible.
In School Program: host an event during school hours exclusively for your students – EOI open for all WA based schools
Our in-school program consists of 2 x 1hr sessions designed to be completed standard periods during school time. There are 2 types of sessions available and schools can choose to have one of each type or 2 repeats of the same type of session depending on their needs and the target year level. In 2023, we will be limiting our in school programs to a total of one per term.
Session Type A: ‘Inspire in 5’ Career Speeches (best suited to years 7-9)
Format: Students listen to 5 min presentations from 6-8 different women in STEM
Time: 60mins / one period
Capacity: Depending on venue capacity, whole year groups are possible
Venue: Theatre/Assembly style room with projector and PA system
Session Type B: Speed Networking (best suited to years 10-12)
Format: Students speak to women in STEM mentors in small groups (1-5 depending on class size) for 5-10 minutes at a time and rotate through 6-8 mentors in total during the session
Time: 60mins / one period
Capacity: 35 students max. It is recommended that this is an opt-in session for students.
Venue: Can be hosted in a regular classroom, 8 tables and enough chairs for all attendees
Please note that to reduce the resourcing load on our volunteers, we ask that both parts of the program be completed on the same school day and back to back where possible. This means our volunteers only need to travel to the school and take time off work once.
The Speakers
Our Women in STEM Mentors are selected from our team of 500+ WA professionals volunteering their time to promote STEM careers to students. For any given program, we will recruit our mentors such that together they cover a wide range of fields, industries and career pathways. If there is a particular field or career pathway you would like us to focus on, we will try our best to cater to that.
Program Cost
We charge a nominal rate for in-school programs, to enable us to visit less accessible and/or lower socio-economic areas in WA.
- Standard price for Perth-based schools: $800
- Schools located in low socio-economic areas and/or outside of the Perth area (at committee discretion) : $0
Schools that have hosted an in-school program in the past:
- Santa Maria College
- Hedland SHS
- Margaret River SHS
- Armadale SHS
- Bunbury SHS
- Busselton SHS
After Hours Program: provide a suitable venue for our ‘Inspire in 5’ events open to the general public – EOI open for all Perth-based schools
For schools without the capacity to host us during school hours, or looking for a no-cost option, we are also hosting a number of Inspire in 5 events in evenings around Perth in 2023.
This requires a school with a suitable theatrette-type venue with a capacity of 100+ who are comfortable opening attendance not just for students of their school, but schools in neighbouring suburbs as well.
In return for the venue, we will reserve 50% of tickets for students and parents of your school and organise all aspects of the event (speakers, facilitation, ticketing, market materials etc)
About Inspire in 5 events
This event is a presentation-style experience, where students, teachers, parents and guardians will see 5-minute presentations from a number of different Women in STEM Mentors. After the 1hr presentation session, there will be an opportunity for the audience to ask questions via an interactive panel discussion. The fields that are covered by each session are published on our website prior to the event.
Schools who we have proudly partnered with to host an evening Inspire in 5 event:
- Hale School
- Mt Lawley SHS
- Governor Stirling SHS
- Butler College (pivoted to online during a COVID-19 lockdown)
- Melville SHS
- Pinjarra SHS
The Innovators’ Tea Party 