Innovation & Entrepreneurship

At St Mary’s, we value innovation and entrepreneurship in our student’s education. Our student-led, future-focused programs aim to foster enterprising behaviours and attitudes in our students early in their studies. With opportunities to participate in a range of activities and community partnership programs, students are encouraged to immerse themselves in exciting and engaging projects to empower, learn and achieve.

Our Innovation programs align with the Australian Curriculum and SACE to strengthen students’ skillsets and learning potential. Encompassing a range of social enterprises, innovation projects at St Mary's allow students to explore learning outside the boundaries of traditional subjects, developing authentic and real-world learning experiences. Below we have detailed a select number of successful and immersive programs our Innovation sector has offered our students.

The Digital Twin Project

The Digital Twin Project is a STEM-inspired project that has partnered St Mary’s with Digital Twinning Australia (DTA) for a pioneering program that introduces students to the digital workforce of the future. DTA is an Australian leader in Industry 4.0 based in Adelaide and Sydney. The business is female-owned, operated and founded, allowing our students a chance to observe STEM women in the workforce and advance their skillset with DTA’s learned guidance.

The partnership focuses on our students working closely with STEM to advance studies into solar energy systems, practise 3D modelling and conduct digital twinning on a virtual interface. The Digital Twin Project aims to offer a unique teaching tool for students to explore their skills in STEM and make their mark in reducing our carbon footprint.

The Grounds for Change Barista Project

The Grounds for Change Barista Project is a student-led project that combines small business and entrepreneurship skillsets with hospitality. Students from Years 7 to 12 gain enterprise, management and operation skills through the running of a small coffee shop business titled Grounds for Change (or G4C). Students are given the capability to integrate themselves into the community, absorbing real-world learning, including a refined knowledge of literacy, numeracy and critical and creative thinking skills. Through G4C, our students are educated on business finance, including income, profits and overheads.

Grounds for Change places its profits towards giving back to the community. G4C aids the Soup Kitchen initiative, supporting people out of work or those ineligible for JobKeeper. G4C also uses its profits for intercommunity training partnerships. Upholding St Mary’s immersion strategies, G4C partners with outside organisations to provide a 1:1 model (for every 1 St Mary’s student we train, 1 disadvantaged young person will be given access to free training at COTS).

G4C runs from 8:00 am to 8:40 am, Mondays to Fridays.