SingularityU Australia Youth Program

The International Space Station is the home to seven astronauts from around the world and has science labs from the United States, Russia, Japan and Europe. It is as big inside as a house with five bedrooms. It has two bathrooms, a gymnasium and a big bay window. It weighs almost a million pounds and overall is big enough to cover an American soccer pitch including the end zones It is filled with habitation modules, structural trusses, thermal radiators, interconnecting nodes and huge solar arrays that power the vehicle. It has airlocks for space walks and robot arms and it has docking ports for visiting spacecraft. It orbits around the Earth every 90 minutes at an average altitude of 400 (it’s currently at 420 km) kilometres. It takes a lot of teamwork to keep it safely flying. Ed Van Cise is a Flight Director at the NASA Johnson Space Centre in Houston, Texas. He is the 78th NASA Flight Director with the call sign “Carbon Flight” and is has been certified to work in many positions in ISS Mission Control. In this master class Ed will inspire our youth with a story about his own journey to Mission Control, presenting some of his projects and missions. Ed will reveal keys to success in human spaceflight operations (including high performance / high reliability organisations) and the key role that critical thinking, problem solving and teamwork plays in operating the ISS. His case study entitled ‘The Toothbrush Hack’ is a fantastic example of the application of 21st Century skills. And if this isn’t enough Ed will talk about Moon to Mars and beyond.

Meet Arlian Ecker. He grew up between Australia and Austria and now lives in Australia. His passion is to save the ocean from plastic pollution. Arlian has been featured on national television and was a plenary speaker at the 2019 Asia Pacific Cities Summit and Mayor's Forum. Please meet Karin Ecker, Creative Manager and acclaimed filmmaker of 20 years joining forces with her son Arlian with her latest film aka 'Plastic Free Boy' and producing the film' Plastic Alarm'. Together Karin and Arlian are on a journey to educate and inspire people to create change for a more sustainable future, through the showing of films and creating a peer-to-peer education project including curriculum lesson plans (made by teachers).  Their first film 'Plastic Alarm' has so far reached nearly 900,000 kids in schools and has led to significant action to reduce plastic waste in their schools and communities; They seek to unite kids, teachers, and anyone who is interested to join on their mission. Arlian's mission started in January 2017 on his 11th birthday when he saw three sea turtles being released back into the ocean. He found out that they were hurt by plastic pollution. He also found out that when he turns 42 years old there will, if unchecked, be more plastic in the ocean than fish. Arlian decided to do something to help people's future and the way he chooses to do this is to spread the message to every other kid on this planet. He knows kids can often feel powerless about the issues they learn in school. Arlian believes our youth can all learn that everyone matters and can make a difference, and even better learn the steps to take.This inspiring master class is about Arlain's and Karin's journey and messages and films and experiences and achievements.

Meet Graham Long, ex CEO and now affectionately called ‘Grandfather’ for Wayside Chapel in Kings Cross Sydney. Until recently handing over the reins, Graham has successfully led an amazing team of people working at the Wayside Chapel whose mission is creating community with no ‘us and them’. The team has been doing this by breaking down the barriers of judgement and providing a safe place where people from all walks of life are welcome. Prime Ministers, business leaders and film stars sit alongside those who have fallen by the wayside. The team’s guiding view is to see everyone as a person to be met, not a problem to be solved. This principle can often be overlooked in our daily professional and personal lives, particularly as technology drives us forward and faster. It is not uncommon for people to have endless patience for ‘customers’ and zero patience with colleagues. Graham will explore his experience of building the team at Wayside that has significant relevance for everyone and in particular for our youth about to make their mark on the world. Graham will share tips on: finding a path for your feet, resilience, the difference between destiny or fate, embracing errors, speaking-up team mates behind their back, letting the mission be central and fostering kindness. And as a bonus Graham will reveal a landmark initiative for youth called ‘Wingspan’ a training and employment enterprise providing opportunities for young people (17-25) to take control of their lives. Through the program, they are gradually empowered by one-on-one support focussing on both physical and mental wellbeing. Participants are therefore enabled to progress their lives through training and employment.

Across the globe technology exerts increasing influence and impact upon our lives, our learning and our capacity to tackle some of the world's biggest challenges. Our youth will have a significant contribution to make in the world. It will not just be their skills and knowledge that will facilitate this but their mindset. In this master class, Christian Marcus,previously Regional Manager at Tesla and now Program Manager at GreenUpAccelerator.com, will look at how our young can match their mindsets to the right challenge or company and how to find their strengths, all messengers to moulding high performing teams. And critically - in the modern world - how to learn from and build upon failure. Christian will share lots of anecdotes and his key learnings from his time with Tesla, including fast cars, as he describes 'Ordinary people achieving extraordinary things.'

The International Space Station (ISS) is a truly significant globally collaborative, engineering, political, cultural and financial accomplishment. It is an immense spacecraft launched in 1998 and completed in 2011 built in space by astronauts from around the world. It serves as a continuously operating research laboratory and is home to seven people for periods of up to six months at a time as they oversee and complete scientific research that otherwise cannot be done on Earth. It is also used to learn about living and working in space. Christian is the Director, In-Space Manufacturing and Research for Axiom Space, a space infrastructure company developing commercial space platforms for the future including building the world’s first commercial space station. In this session Christian will share his journey and learnings in getting to his position with Axiom Space. He will cover the vision of Axiom Space, explore the 21st Century skills and innovative thinking the organisation applies to realising this vision and will present what it is like working in an organisation that believes space settlement and utilisation is the next link in a chain that began with humanity’s forebears on land, sailed with them across the seas, and followed them into the air. The expanse beyond humanity’s cradle beckons the curious to explore, offers visions of a brighter future, and holds the most promising environment for problem-solving, creation, and discovery since the Internet: microgravity. Christian recently quoted: “Whatever you do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius and power and magic in it.” This master class is sure to explore this.

The exponential changes from technology and digital ecosystems will change all aspects of business and life. In particular these exponential and stunning developments will impact our youth in so many different ways. Chakyl, a former Olympic athlete runs a successful business that is disrupting traditional business models in property and retail. His passion is centred on delivering benefit to communities and has a zeal for helping people to realise their potential. In this master class Chakyl will present his seven Ps Program of Character Cultivation as a guide to support the way our young and mature alike can check out their mindset, emotions and aspirations in a way that guides and prepares them for the challenges that lay ahead as they navigate living a fulfilling and meaningful life. Chakyl will help explain how these seven Ps will guide our youth as they start their own journeys in life that inevitably will be impacted by technology, choice, uncertainty and potential. The program provides a means to free individuals from developing patterns of negative emotions, based on fears, by learning to access positive emotions - on demand - as well as positively aligning their purpose, passion, and potential. Hence, the seven Ps program: 1. Preparation 2. Purpose 3. Passion 4. Potential 5. Practice 6. Perseverance 7. Protection.

It is a well researched and documented fact that girls do not pursue Science Technology. Engineering and Mathematics opportunities because they lack the mindset and opportunity to have ownership over their futures. Jenine is a well-known and tireless advocate for innovation and diversity in STEM. Famous for her acclaimed series of books 'Tech Girls are Superheroes' and leadership of the Tech Girls Movement' Foundation, in this master class Jenine will present, discuss and promote to everyone the most impactful, easy things you can do to get involved in STEM. Behind this is her unswerving belief that your small acts can have big consequences. All organisations, big and small plus educators and parents and our youth need to tune into this master class.

It is easy to be awed and overwhelmed at the scale of growth of companies around the world that are using technology to address the world's challenges and bring benefit to people. Start-ups bring in exciting new ideas and energy and people expand their innovative influence within companies. It is easy therefore to overlook what is happening on your own doorstep. Alex is the Startup Programs Manager and an Associate Lecturer in Entrepreneurship for the University of Sydney. He has founded six businesses, all in different industries with two exits, and in this session will attempt to summarise the key messages from all the master classes in a way that brings the inspiring content into practical next steps to encourage our youth into participation. Alex will introduce the audience to the world of support available to budding entrepreneurs while showcasing the best of cutting edge startups being built right here in parts of Australia.