Studying science, engineering, technology and maths (STEM) at QUT opens a world of opportunities to achieve your full potential and forge a rewarding career.
Why study STEM at QUT?
Discovering how to improve lives by solving a range of real-world problems will be crucial in the
future. Many of the jobs of today were unheard of a decade ago: app developers, big data
analysts and sustainability engineers.
STEM careers provide the greatest opportunities to
succeed in the future.
No university is better placed to help you launch your STEM career
than Queensland’s only university of technology.
Why study STEM at QUT?
The fundamental underpinning of the skills you need for jobs of the future is STEM.
But did you know that there’s a secret formula to getting that great-paying, in-demand and stellar career that you’ll love? We call it STEM+X - where X is your passion, another field or a world-changing goal.
To help get you started on finding your perfect STEM+X combo, we’ve created a 60-page STEM+X guide in partnership with Careers with STEM.
Think about the future. What issues do we need to address, as a society, to ensure longevity? Climate change. Water scarcity. Food shortages. Species extinction. Affordable housing. With a predicted 75 per cent of future occupations needing STEM literacy, it means that a skilled STEM workforce is central to addressing these complex issues now and into the future.
Science and Advanced Science
Understand and tackle the greatest challenges facing our world and its future.
Lauren Blackwell, Bachelor of Engineering (Honours)/Bachelor of Science student
Double your career opportunities
A double degree can help you develop a portfolio of skills and capabilities so you will be flexible, prepared for change and able to maximise your career opportunities. Create your own specialist career niche by combining your STEM degree with a complementary study area that interests you.
The Careers with STEM Job Kits are free 8-page e-mags you can download, offering a complete introduction to individual STEM careers.
Discover what a job in STEM is all about, meet real people working in the field, and find out what you can do right now to set your career on the right path.
Tune in to hear from a great line-up of guest alumni from around the world, sharing their stories about the paths they’ve taken to get where they are in their STEM careers. Hosted by QUT STEM graduate, Mackenzi Oliver, these episodes will help you find your inspiration for a STEM career.
QUT alumnus Dr Abigail Allwood is at the cutting-edge of space exploration
Women in STEM
With only one in four STEM workers being women, we recognise the importance of supporting and celebrating women pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and maths.
We're tackling this gender divide through a number of programs and initiatives, including #STEMtheTide.
Libby Hogarth is a passionate urban planner with a focus on inclusive and meaningful spaces. Libby uncovers the varied range of projects which use the expertise of urban planners to become the best possible developments for all users.
In celebration of International Women’s Day, QUT's Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Margaret Sheil sat down for an interview with Minister Karen Andrews, Australia’s Minister for Industry, Science and Technology.
Donald Piggott-McKellar is an Associate Director at Forge Advisory, and one of the minds behind the evolving infrastructure of Brisbane for over 10 years.
Dr Naomi Paxton explains what biofabrication is, the importance of being in a supportive and diverse team and how she made the leap from physics to biomanufacturing.
You’ve got ideas that can help shape the world? Our courses will give you the tools, equipment and technology to bring your concepts to life.
We're Queensland’s only university of technology - future-focused and always exploring emerging disciplines and equipment. We'll help you push the boundaries of scientific development using cutting-edge facilities housed in our specialist precincts, labs and workspaces.
Our researchers work in key STEM areas, aiming to solve some of the major challenges facing society and the planet, including:
sustainable development and climate change
energy and food security
an ageing population and chronic disease
information dissemination and security.
Many of these leading researchers will be your lecturers. Their experience, passion and knowledge will be shared with you as part of your studies. They will inspire you to reach your potential and exceed your goals.
Naomi Paxton
"Combining polymer science and engineering innovations in biofabrication research has the potential to revolutionise how we treat tissue loss and improve the quality of care for patients."
Mardi McNeil
QUT PhD student Mardi McNeil was part of a team carrying out the first ever assessment of how a particular type of green macroalgae, Halimeda, affects the marine ecosystem in the Great Barrier Reef.
Evangeline Corcoran
"A highlight of my PhD studies so far is publishing my first lead author paper and receiving international honours as a ‘Woman to Watch’ in the drone industry for my role in researching the use of drones, thermal imaging and machine learning to monitor threatened wildlife."
Scholarships
We recognise the achievements and potential of our students, and encourage you to apply for our scholarships, bursaries and development programs. Scholarships offer both financial support and a wealth of invaluable experience. They can help shape and support your time at university. All you need to do is apply.
Vanessa and Riva are both recipients of the prestigious Westpac Young Technologists Scholarship. Only five universities across Australia offer this $15,000 scholarship. The scholarship includes a personalised enrichment program, giving you access to paid internships, inspiring mentors and an international leadership development experience, and membership of the Westpac 100 Scholars Network.
Brody Foy, a QUT mathematics graduate and past Dean’s Scholar and Rhodes Scholar, is using his PhD to apply his maths skills to computational biology. Specifically, lung function testing. Brody has also co-founded a non-profit consultancy that uses data analytics and machine learning to solve problems in healthcare, energy and social services.
Saskia Mathers
Saskia Mathers, a current Deans Scholar and computer software systems engineering student, is a Women in Engineering scholarship recipient and past president of Women in Technology (WiT) at QUT. Saskia has used her experiences in the program to build networks with sponsors and combine her leadership experiences and passion for STEM.
Are you an international student?
Discover more about studying with us as an international student. Find out how to apply, information about scholarships and pathway programs, and what student life is like at QUT.
A common misconception about university is that you have to do it ‘on your own’. You’ll be relieved to know that QUT offers many opportunities to get involved, make new friends, and receive proactive and timely support services to help you succeed.
Join a range of student-led projects and clubs: QUT Aerospace, QUT Construct, Girls in Engineering Making Statements, QUT Maths Society, QUT Motorsport, QUT Planning Student Association, Women in Science, and QUT Women in Technology are just some.
Why wait until you graduate to create your business, social enterprise or side hustle? QUT Entrepreneurship is the perfect place to collaborate, network and share ideas with fellow budding entrepreneurs and like-minded students from across the university.
The Oodgeroo Unit is QUT's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander student success unit, providing admission pathways, dedicated study spaces, tutors, cultural support and scholarships for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students
News
9th December 2020
A new study has found one of the challenges in designing systems that involve people interacting with technology is to tackle the human trait of overconfidence.
The study, published in the journal IEEE Control Systems, takes a novel multidisciplined approach in studying “cyberphysical human systems”. The research considers the relationship between people and computer systems both from the perspective of control system engineering and behavioural economics.
The research by QUT’s Cyberphysical Systems Professor Daniel Quevedo, and Marius Protte and Professor René Fahr, both from Paderborn University in Germany, looks at the impact that human decision can make on an engineered system.
Professor Quevedo said control system engineers generally did not examine the interaction between people and the systems they were in, and how their choices could impact on the system.
To explain how unpredictable human decisions could impact on a controlled system, Professor Quevedo said an example was if he was planning a drive using a navigation system and was offered alternative routes.
“I make my own decision based on the information and drive. And that affects the whole traffic system,” Professor Quevedo said.
“There is this problem about what information does the car system give me so that I behave in one way or another.
“That’s just for one car. With traffic, there are many cars. What information should we get so that we behave in one way or another? How do our actions work?”
While the system’s designer expects humans to take the fastest route, they might take a different route. If enough people decided to take an alternative route, then the traffic flow predictions of the system would need to be reconsidered.
Professor Quevedo said successful design of “human-in-the-loop” control systems required an understanding of how humans behaved.
He said an interesting issue was that people, unlike machines, did not necessarily improve their performance through immediate and frequent feedback.
“Given the immense complexity of human behaviour, there’s no clear way to create appropriate models for human decision making,” Professor Quevedo said.
In the study, the researchers looked at how people behaved when given the task of piloting a drone and found that frequent feedback about the quality of the piloting decisions made, may lead to poor performance.
“While more information is commonly considered to result in better decisions, human susceptibility for perceptual biases in response to high information supply must be considered,” Professor Quevedo said.
“Otherwise, individuals might take unnecessarily high risks, rendering thoughtfully designed policies inefficient.
The study highlights that people often overestimate their ability at a task, such as believing they are better than average drivers, or they succumb to the “hot hand fallacy" from basketball which links the likelihood that a player will score in the future to his past successes in throwing.
“If you win you think you’re doing really well, you fall in love with yourself,” Professor Quevedo said.
“As a control engineer, I always tended to assume that cooperative people somehow just do what they’re told because they’re part of a system.
“We need to incorporate a model of human behaviour, but human behaviour is a difficult thing.
“You don’t want to overload people with information because they can’t process all of it. But it’s much more refined than that.”
This multidisciplinary study of human behaviour through behavioural economics and control system engineering is a start for future research.
“Putting the worlds together is the first step for us. Now we want to continue,” Professor Quevedo said.
“The current work exposes the human as an under observed source of errors in human-in-the-loop control systems.
“Future areas of research need to be how to design mechanisms on when to pass on information and how to pass on information to human decision makers.”