House of Assembly Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2) 52 2 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Question Time Science Excellence Awards SCIENCE EXCELLENCE AWARDS Mr BIGNELL House of Assembly Mawson SCIENCE EXCELLENCE AWARDS Mr BIGNELL (Mawson) (14:59): My question is to the Minister for Science and Information Economy. Can the minister inform the house about South Australia's Science Excellence Awards? The Hon. T.R. KENYON House of Assembly Newland Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills Minister for Science and Information Economy Minister for Recreation and Sport SCIENCE EXCELLENCE AWARDS The Hon. T.R. KENYON (Newland—Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills, Minister for Science and Information Economy, Minister for Recreation and Sport) (15:00): South Australia's economy is rapidly transforming with growth in existing, new and emerging industries causing demand for higher skilled jobs to increase. Scientific research and innovation are fundamental to this transformation to a highly advanced economy and, in turn, our future prosperity. With this in mind, I am pleased to inform the house of our premier event rewarding outstanding scientific endeavour. Nominations for the 2012 South Australia Science Excellence Awards are now open with the nine awards available totalling $100,000. These awards showcase the success of the state's scientists, researchers, PhD students and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (or STEM) educators, as well as recognising early career professionals. The awards aim to highlight the diversity of scientific research and provide a great opportunity to celebrate high quality STEM research and education, which is critical to building a strong foundation for South Australia's future across our key growth sectors. They also recognise the application of science in industry and help to create a better understanding of how research is linked to the development of new technologies and products. Nominees have the opportunity to boost their profiles, build their careers and be rewarded with cash prizes, with the Scientist of the Year receiving $20,000 and the other eight category winners $10,000 each. The five categories for the nine 2012 awards are: South Australian Scientist of the Year; PhD Research Excellence awards; Early Career STEM Professional awards; Early Career STEM Educator of the Year awards; and SA Early Career Researcher. It is clear from these categories that the awards reflect the state government's commitment to science and research and our aim to support more people taking up careers in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields through our STEM Skills Strategy. Nominations for the 2012 Science Excellence Awards close on Friday 8 June, with winners announced at a gala dinner on 17 August.