The Palaszczuk Government is inviting Queensland’s teachers to apply for a fellowship to study at one of the world’s most prestigious museums in New York next year.
Minister for Environment and Science Leeanne Enoch said the 2019 Queensland-Cooper Hewitt Fellowship is now open for applications.
"The fellowship is the opportunity of a lifetime for a teacher to travel to New York to work at the prestigious Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum," Ms Enoch said.
"The Cooper Hewitt Design Museum is known around the world for its education design, often working closely with schools across the United States.
"The successful fellow will spend up to 12 weeks working with the museum’s experts looking at how design thinking can be used to engage students, so they get a lot more out of their education.
"The Queensland-Cooper Hewitt Fellowship aims to foster the exchange of knowledge and skills between the Cooper Hewitt Design Museum and Queensland’s teaching communities.
"The fellows return home and immediately start sharing the knowledge gained, new experiences lived and also sharing the contacts they have made in the US."
Earlier this year, while in the United States on a trade mission, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk signed a further three year $360,000 agreement with the Smithsonian Institution in Washington to continue the fellowship programs to 2021.
2018 Queensland-Cooper Hewitt Fellowship recipient Herman Rijken said the opportunity to go to the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum has given him a greater understanding of how to work within the classroom.
Mr Rijken, who is the ICT teacher at Cooktown State School and was the 2017 Far North Queensland Teacher of the Year, spent eight weeks at the Museum in May.
Passionate about teaching children in remote communities about digital technologies Mr Rijken said he found himself taking every opportunity possible to engage at all levels of the Cooper Hewitt's education program.
"I really enjoyed teaching design to all ages. I had ample time and opportunity to further my own knowledge of design thinking. The museum itself is also a wonderful place that celebrates design," Mr Rijken said.
"I learned how to plan engaging design activities and identify opportunities where design can be used in the Australian Curriculum framework. I learned to consider how best to write design assessment.
"The key learning was to allow students the opportunity to be assessed by an open design problem, which would allow them the opportunity to explore fantastic and wild solutions as well as the practical and conservative ones.
"I’d definitely encourage my fellow teachers to apply for the fellowship. This is your chance to participate in design education with other educators who are just as passionate as you are.
"This fellowship will transform and reinforce your passion for design. The experience you will have will be with you for the rest of your life. And you get to work with the prestigious Smithsonian Institute!"
Details on how to apply to the Queensland-Cooper Hewitt Fellowship can be found on the Advance Queensland website (https://advance.qld.gov.au/universities-and-researchers/queensland-cooper-hewitt-fellowships).
