I’m a Primary School teacher – is this suitable for me? Yes, the conference is suitable for students from Grade 4 through to Year 10 and teachers from both primary and secondary schools. We have mini-masterclasses for teachers as well as hands-on mini-workshops in which students and teachers collaborate at primary and secondary levels.

Our school has only a very small budget for STEAM – are the workshops going to help us? Yes, some of the workshops are purely paper based that develop thinking skills whilst others incorporate the use of free software available to schools. Our goal is for teachers and students to experience how simply they can begin authentic STEAM and entrepreneurial programs in their school.

We don’t have a STEM/STEAM program at our school, can we still attend? We are quite advanced in the implementation of STEAM in our school, is this suitable for us? Absolutely! We have deliberately sought out activities that are applicable for the many stages that schools may be around enacting STEM/STEAM and Entrepreneurship. Whether you are just at the start or an expert we have a range of teachers and providers who will be presenting ideas and activities that will address your point of need. Our goal is have teachers connect and network with other teachers and take away lots of ideas to implement at your school.

Do we have to submit/propose a workshop to run at the conference? No. However, if you have something you think other students and teachers would like then we would love you to submit a proposal.

We are looking for new and innovative ways to develop our students, will we be able to ask questions and find out what other schools are doing? Yes – this was one of founding intentions for this conference. We want students and teachers to experience a variety of hands-on workshops so they can go back to their schools and infuse new ideas into their programs.

Why are you recommending students to attend and how many can I bring? We have found that the best exemplars of school based STEAM and Entrepreneurship programs in Australia are driven by both students and teachers. We want to spark student leadership in your schools. This is why we are suggesting to schools to bring anywhere up to 15-20 students to the conference.

What does my registration include? Every student registration for the Conference includes attending keynotes given by leading STEM practitioners and access to a wide range of hands-on STEM activities /events / workshops and materials. All teachers, in addition to the above, will have access to teacher mini-masterclasses, presentation handouts and notes, access to STEM experts and presenters, as well as opportunities to network with other teachers and STEM industry and university providers. All teachers will receive a Professional Development Certificate for the hours of the conference which can be counted for their yearly teacher professional hours. The workshop selection process will occur 3 to 4 weeks prior to the conference. Registration also covers morning tea (half and full day conference) and lunch (full day conference only)

I have a question about the conference: For general enquiries, please contact Rachel@spark-educonferences.com.au or call us on +61 0411270277

Is my registration transferable? Yes, your registration can be transferred to a colleague or student we ask that you provide all transfer details to us by contacting Rachel@spark-educonferences.com.au

What is the refund policy? 75% refund is available from 11 to 30 days prior to the event. After this date or for non-attendance refunds are not available and payment must be made in full. However, we will be pleased for you to transfer your registration to another attendee (see above). Sponsored and supported schools may differ. Please contact office@spark-educonferences.com.au to process this transfer or call Rachel on 0411 270 277.

Cancellation of an event by us: In the event of insufficient applications, or mitigating circumstances (e.g. pandemic, floods, etc), which lead us to cancel the conference, registration monies will be fully refunded. In the event of the conference being cancelled, registration monies only will be refunded as we will not accept liability for the payment of any other associated costs.
While we seek to ensure that all workshops listed in the conference programme do occur on the day this is sometimes not possible due to presenter illness or other circumstances. In this case we will endeavour to ensure that the attendees who have chosen that workshop are placed in another workshop of similar quality or design.

Payment of registration: By submitting this form you are confirming that you have been given financial approval by the school/organisation to attend. All registration payments must be made prior to the date of the conference. Notes: Early Bird rate must be paid by the invoice due date otherwise we reserve the right to re-invoice at the standard rate. Presenter fee (teacher/sponsor/guest) – students must still pay even if presenting.

Student attendees: You agree as your school representative teacher to take full responsibility and duty of care for the students attending with you. We aim to ensure all presenters/facilitators have their WWCC (or state equivalent) and the event meets Occupational Health and Safety and any other government requirements.

Privacy Policy: We promise to keep your information private at all times. We will not sell, pass on or by any other method share your information with a third party. We will store your information for the purpose of communication regarding the event. You will be added to our newsletter list to enable us to correspond with you leading up to the conference and to enable us to invite you to future events. You are welcome to unsubscribe at any time.

NOTE: We will send emails prior to the conference requiring you to take actions. This may include; understanding your current ability and needs, providing you with technical requirements for your workshop choices, seeking dietary requirements and traffic management information, and sending information to prepare you for the conference. We aim to keep the emails to a minimum. Excursion documentation will be available upon request.

Seeking Sponsors! The conference brings together students and teachers to create an inspiring future where a community happens. We want all schools to have access to events like this and your support can make that happen. Sponsors have the opportunity to deliver hands-on workshops, contribute to the conversations, help us keep our admission costs as low as possible and offer scholarships. We invite you to consider joining us as a sponsor. Please contact us at office@spark-educonferences.com.au

Accessibility: We are committed to making our events as inclusive as possible. If you have additional accessibility requests, please contact us at office@spark-educonferences.com.au

Media on Premises: Our aim is to represent the conference in a positive light and support the advancement of STEM activities.
A media consent form is sent with your registration confirmation email (content below). We ask you complete and return to us prior to your attendance. We will assume your acceptance if not advised otherwise.

By attending and/or presenting at the It Takes a Spark STEM Conference, I understand that it is likely that I may be photographed or filmed by the media or conference representatives at the conference.
I grant permission to Spark EDU Conferences (conference organiser – SEC) and its agents, to use my:
1. If an organisation: the representatives’ name, the organisation name alongside an image reflecting their participation.
2. If a school: the school name (but not person’s name), with an image of a representing teacher/educator; if a student – my child/ward
In any SEC materials, including, but not limited to, official newsletters, websites, marketing material, televised broadcasts and major sponsors’ web sites (SEC Materials).
I waive any right to:
(a) Inspect or approve any SEC Materials which contain the aforementioned whether in draft or the final product;
(b) Royalties or other compensation in respect of the use as stated in 2.1 and / or 2.2 in the SEC Materials, now or in the future and whether I know of the SEC Materials or not.
I agree to release and discharge SEC and its agents, including, but not limited to, any organisation publishing and/or distributing the SEC Materials in whole or in part, whether on paper or via electronic media, from any and all claims for damages, loss, liability or other relief that I (organisation/teacher/school), and/or my child/ward may have against any of them in respect of their use in any SEC Materials.

Thank you so much for your support and cooperation. We look forward to partnering you to create an inspiring conference.