Albemarle partners with The University of Western Australia to inspire students toward STEM-related careers

Albemarle partners with The University of Western Australia to inspire students toward STEM-related careers

How do we encourage more young adults to see themselves in science-based careers? It requires someone who can make science topics accessible and understandable.

Albemarle Australia has partnered with The University of Western Australia's (UWA) Einstein-First project to get students to aspire to technology, engineering, and mathematics-related careers.

Project coordinator Dr. Jyoti Kaur said partnering with a company like Albemarle was a perfect match due to our work in the Lithium industry.

"Lithium is an important mineral for the transition to a low-carbon economy, and the project aims to redesign, evaluate and optimize school science across all educational levels to reflect the modern understanding of space, time, matter, and the universe," Dr. Kaur said.

Maintenance Engineer Alex Foppoli
Maintenance Engineer Alex Foppoli

Kemerton Site Director Daniel O'Shea said Albemarle was excited to be involved in creating a more engaging learning experience for primary and secondary school students in Southwest Australia. Students will work directly on-site with researchers to improve their learning experience.

"Children today are already familiar with the idea of renewable energy," O'Shea said. "They are less aware that our locally based industry helps to underpin many renewable energy developments like electric vehicles. Forging this partnership between researchers and Albemarle will build an understanding of what we do and hopefully engage and open minds to future possibilities."

While the partnership is new to Albemarle, our employees are familiar with the program. Maintenance Engineer Alex Foppoli was a part of the Einstein-First program at UWA while gaining his Bachelor of Science and Master of Chemical Engineering. He said the experience changed his life and inspired him to make science more accessible for all.