Re-Engineering Australia Foundation Partners with Turnitin to Enhance the Integrity of STEM Programs

Re-Engineering Australia Foundation (REA) has partnered with Turnitin to strengthen the integrity of its science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programs, and to ensure originality and authenticity in the way that students develop their skills for future careers.

REA is a not-for-profit organisation that provides educational programs designed to influence the way Australian schools, universities and TAFEs engage with the concept of STEM and deliver student learning outcomes aligned with the skills needed in the global work environment. To date, REA has engaged over one million students in Australia to collaborate with industry mentors and learn about career pathways.

Through the partnership, REA will incorporate Turnitin’s Feedback Studio into all of its STEM competitions, including F1 in Schools and SUBS in Schools. With thousands of students across Australia and New Zealand competing each year, each team will be able to use the software to run a Similarity Report on their portfolio to ensure their concepts are original before submitting.

“Our programs are designed to help students build essential lifelong skills such as analytical problem solving, collaboration and communication that they can take with them and use as they traverse high school, universities or TAFEs and into the industry,” said Dr Michael Myers, Executive Chairman at REA.

“It’s important that we provide students with the technology and tools they need to develop these skills while ensuring that their ideas are original and meet the highest standards of integrity. Turnitin is the leader in academic integrity technology and is already used by millions of students in classrooms around the world. They are the perfect partner to ensure we can continue to uphold the integrity of our programs and deliver educational outcomes for students that meet changing industry requirements.”

“STEM education equips students with critical problem-solving skills needed to navigate an increasingly technology-driven world of work,” said Brenton Wyett, New Business Manager for Australia and New Zealand at Turnitin. “Given the highly collaborative and innovative nature of STEM education, it must be held to high standards of academic integrity. We are excited to partner with Re-Engineering Australia to show teachers and students the importance of originality in scientific thinking and set students on a successful academic and career path.”

A core component of the STEM challenges is communication: students need to communicate scientific concepts via written and verbal presentations to prove their research processes and products. Turnitin’s Feedback Studio is used by STEM educators to incorporate writing instruction and assessment to help students work through their scientific thinking, address the logic of their ideas and learn new concepts.

“Students are able to better adjust their understanding of STEM concepts if they receive targeted feedback about the content of their ideas, not just grammar and spelling. STEM specific rubrics and Quickmarks in Turnitin Feedback Studio are used by teachers to create effective writing assignments that encourage students to articulate their ideas and connect their reasoning to scientific principles and ideas. This helps students build scientific and technical skills needed for the future of work,” said Wyett.

Re-Engineering Australia Foundation (REA) is a not-for-profit public company focused on the implementation of STEM-based educational programs in schools across Australia which build resilience, character and the skills needed to prepare students for the transition to the world or work. REA’s programs promote career relevance, life-long STEM learning and foster the accumulation of career knowledge, as students travel the journey from primary school, through high school and into TAFE & University. REA’s programs include F1 in Schools, SUBS. In Schools, SPACE in Schools and 4x4 in Schools. REA