Welcome to Future You, a program developed to help you, your students, and their families explore the world of careers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).

As teachers and educators, you have a vitally important role in shaping the future of young people’s lives, and through them, the future of Australia, and the world.

And there’s never been a time when STEM has been so important to that future.

With conflicts, the COVID-19 pandemic, and climate change, we are creating a perfect storm. Events such as fires, floods, droughts, refugee crises, food, power and water shortages, are having a huge impact on our world.

Future You, is national digital awareness-raising program which presents children between the ages of 8 and 12 with inspiring role models of people working in STEM. It challenges ideas about who can work in STEM to encourage children from all backgrounds to explore the sector.

Crucially, it provides impactful learning experiences and teaching tools focussing on STEM careers, that are cross-curricular, collaborative, accessible, and relevant to young people’s lives.

Everything Future You does is free, available online, and downloadable. All our activities are conceived for dual use, in either the classroom, or in the home.

The two strands of Future You are:

• Pathfinders – a series of four short form documentary films exploring the world of STEM as it’s experienced now. Eight more films are in development.
• Imagining The Future – a series of five short stories by leading Australian writers of fiction for young people, set on a moon of Jupiter, and featuring young protagonists using STEM principles to grapple with urgent technological and environmental challenges.

Imagining The Future is our short story program. It has been developed with the aim of using fiction to excite the imaginations of your students with the potential of STEM thinking to grapple with the technological, environmental and societal problems of the future.

Set in the near future, humanity is reaching out to the stars, establishing an outpost on the distant, inhospitable surface of Callisto, the second-largest moon of Jupiter.

In five breathtaking, interlinked stories, collectively known as the Callistan cycle, leading Australian authors for young people - Lili Wilkinson, Rebecca Lim, Gary Lonesborough, Melissa Keil and Alison Evans - imagine life in the future and a future in space.

The stories feature a line-up of unforgettable, diverse, young protagonists, who confront their fears, challenge themselves, and overcome the problems that life off world presents, using STEM thinking, coupled with ingenuity, inventiveness, courage, and the friendships that bind them.

Each story, available free for downloading, comes with a dramatized reading podcast featuring exciting young Australian actors, a rich sound design, and a beautiful soundtrack.

There is also a suite of teaching resources for teachers and families to enrich the comprehension and engagement with the stories.

And there will be a national creative writing and graphic art competition in 2023, inviting everyone to imagine themselves in the future and to be part of The Callistan Cycle.

Visit the Imagining The Future page and sign up to our podcast program.