Find Your Place Archives – Find Your Place in SA

A path less travelled to propelling exploration

Imelda Alexopoulos, Director of Exploration at Fleet Space Technologies - From receiving a Bachelor of Biomedical Science to becoming a successful retail banking manager, to then building a high-powered career in professional services consulting - at face value, this doesn’t sound like a road that leads to the defence and space industries. But this less travelled path is the one that Imelda Alexopoulos has taken, and she is not looking back. After serving in the Navy, Imelda Alexopoulos’ father settled [...]

2024-03-08T09:40:49+10:30March 7th, 2024|Categories: News|Tags: Defence industry, Find Your Place|

The defence industry: where finite models lead to infinite possibilities

Dr Janet Wilson, Lead Structural Engineer at KBR, Frazer-Nash Consultancy - Growing up in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Janet Wilson had a strong aptitude for maths and physics. While studying engineering in Scotland, Janet rose to the top of her class and hasn’t looked back since. Engineering was not a popular choice for many women of the time, but for Janet it was a career path that ‘popped’. “I was aware that engineering was not a path that I could go [...]

2024-03-28T09:01:18+10:30March 6th, 2024|Categories: News|Tags: Defence industry, Find Your Place|

Breaking boundaries: how a career in computer science means you’re always engaged

Claudia, Associate Professor at The University of Adelaide - In the realm of cutting-edge computer science, women are largely underrepresented. However, Claudia Szabo ardently pursued her interests, carving out a distinctive path as a female academic dedicated to the success of her students. Born in Romania, Claudia graduated with a degree in computer science from University POLITEHNICA of Bucharest and went on to complete her PhD at the National University of Singapore. “I stayed in Singapore for 10 years before [...]

2024-03-08T09:41:19+10:30March 6th, 2024|Categories: News|Tags: Defence industry, Defence Science, Find Your Place, Make Your Move|

Space to learn and grow

Jack Hopgood grew up in the Adelaide Hills, with dreams of a career working with animals. Attending Urrbrae Agricultural High School, he had all that he needed to achieve his goals. “As much as I loved animals, I realised through my study that science and maths were a real strength for me, so I ended up leaning heavily into those subjects rather than agriculture,” Jack reflected. “Going into University, I had no clear expectation of where I would end up, [...]

2024-02-07T11:00:23+10:30February 7th, 2024|Categories: News|Tags: Find Your Place, Guardians and Educators, High School Students, Higher Education, Space Industry|

Growth in a growing industry

Nicola Higgins is born and bred South Australian, and proud to be working in Adelaide as a Mechanical Engineer for Mincham. Growing up, Nicola had a passion for maths and physics which meant that she saw her future clearly early on. “I knew that I wanted to do something in the engineering field but wasn’t sure which modality,” said Nicola. “After weighing up the options, mechanical felt like the most diverse choice with opportunities to work on anything from engines [...]

2023-11-22T11:24:13+10:30November 22nd, 2023|Categories: News|Tags: Defence industry, Find Your Place, High School Students, Higher Education|

Finding a place in Australia’s centre for space

Allan Dias was born in Brazil and, after his father received a job offer, he found himself moving to China during high school. With a fascination for flight and a knock-back from the Brazilian Air Force, Allan had to really consider his future career path. “I was looking for an opportunity to explore my passion for flying while also being able to interact with other international students,” said Allan. “Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics was just that place.” Studying [...]

2023-11-14T14:59:54+10:30November 14th, 2023|Categories: News|Tags: Find Your Place, Graduates, Higher Education, Make Your Move, Space Industry|

From experience comes future ambition

Born in Jordan, Sama was introduced to the Defence Forces as an early age. As refugees of the Iraq War, Sama’s father was forced to leave his family and immigrate to Brisbane under refugee status. Seven years later, Sama, her brother and mother were able to join him in Australia. Following in her brother’s footsteps, engineering was high on the agenda for Sama. “My brother is in civil engineering, and although I liked the idea of it, civil wasn’t of [...]

2023-10-25T10:26:25+10:30October 25th, 2023|Categories: News|Tags: Defence industry, Find Your Place, Graduates, Higher Education, Make Your Move|

Driving diversity and delivering value for defence industry

As a Program Director leading a team of consultants, Karen Hughes brings with her a wealth of experience in the defence industry. Originally born in England, she migrated to Australia as a child when her father was employed by the federal government in Canberra, moving to Adelaide soon after. Once school was complete, Karen began a maths degree at university, sparking an interest in computer science. And that set the direction for the rest of Karen’s career. “Computer Science just [...]

2023-09-27T10:30:57+09:30September 27th, 2023|Categories: News|Tags: Defence industry, Find Your Place, Graduates, Higher Education|

Scholarship program opens doors for a career in software security

Seeking a graduate placement that would give him an advantage, Scott Pearse set his sights on a Cyber Technology internship at DEWC Services. Supported by the South Australian Government’s Defence Industry Scholarship Program, the move has launched his career in software security at one of the defence industry’s top electronic warfare companies. Completing a Bachelor of Information Technology at Flinders University and a rifleman in the Army Reserve, Scott wanted to find a placement that incorporated his interest in Defence [...]

2023-06-13T10:17:03+09:30June 13th, 2023|Categories: News|Tags: Defence industry, Find Your Place, Graduates, High School Students, Higher Education, Job Seeker|

Gretel navigates through defence industry

Dr Gretel Png’s career journey has seen her work and study across the globe before landing in South Australia to work at Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG) in late 2018. Through DSTG’s 2021 inaugural NAVIGATE program, Gretel undertook a placement with the Defence Innovation Partnership (DIP) where she worked to get the new Activator Fund off the ground. “I’ve applied for grants in the past and I wanted to see what it’s like on the other side: to be [...]

2024-02-12T15:04:31+10:30June 5th, 2023|Categories: News|Tags: Career Change, Defence industry, Defence Science, Find Your Place, Make Your Move|

Graduation success for Defence Industry Scholarship Program students

An impressive cohort of 36 South Australian university students have taken the next step in their defence industry careers, graduating from the highly regarded Defence Industry Scholarship Program. The South Australian Government-funded scholarship program, administered by AiGroup, provides eligible university students with grants of up to $10,000 to undertake work placements at a local defence company. The graduation ceremony held at Edinburgh-based manufacturer, AML3D, recognised students who have completed their defence industry placement across a range of roles, gaining in-demand skills, knowledge [...]

2023-03-15T14:38:27+10:30March 15th, 2023|Categories: News|Tags: Defence industry, Find Your Place, Graduates, Higher Education|

DEWC Services sets high standard in graduate employment

South Australian electronic warfare company DEWC Services has been recognised as a top graduate employer as part of the 2023 Australian Association of Graduate Employers (AAGE) Top Graduate Employers list. DEWC Services was the only small to medium business in the state and one of only three South Australian-headquartered companies recognised on the list, which is based on first-hand ratings and feedback from graduates who spend at least 12 months with an employer. Developed in late 2020 to boost local talent across the [...]

2023-03-15T14:17:11+10:30February 23rd, 2023|Categories: News|Tags: Defence industry, Employers, Find Your Place, Graduates|

12 Next

I get excited about working in the space industry because putting something into space is so difficult. I love the idea of the challenge, that it requires a huge amount of work from so many talented people in a variety of fields all working together to make a project come to fruition.

James, Mechanical & Thermal Engineer, Neumann Space

I love that I’m able to work with others to solve problems that have an impact and make a difference every day while still being able to learn new things.

Georgia, Systems Engineer, BAE Systems Australia

It was exciting moving back to South Australia not only because it’s where I’m from, but because of the emerging space industry. I wanted to help build the space industry in Australia from the ground up, rather than work overseas in an industry that’s already established.

Farisha, Avionics Engineer, Southern Launch

There’s such a variety of opportunities in the defence industry and I’m really excited about the prospect of working on innovative and cutting-edge projects. I have some of the greatest minds around me and these people support me in my growth and development as an engineer.

Jessica, Hardware Engineer, Lockheed Martin Australia

Whilst a larger number of roles in the space industry are in engineering, there are lots of other ways to be involved. Space companies, like ours, still need accountants, lawyers and people in communications and marketing.

Ben, Chief Operating Officer, Inovor Technologies

The best thing about leading a company in South Australia’s defence industry is shining a light on the local skills, talent, and innovation that exists right here, in our own backyard.

Simon, Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer, Silentium Defence

I’m excited for the opportunity to work on massive projects that have a real impact on the future of our Defence Force and the nation’s protection and security.

Jeff, Systems Engineer, Nova Systems

There are a number of projects within South Australia which you can spend your entire career working on and still enjoy what you do.

Dhiren, Commercial Manager, PMB Defence

There’s a misconception that the defence industry is very serious, but the experience I’ve had is that we are a very creative and collaborative group of individuals working towards a common goal.

Jamila, Project Manager, ASC Shipbuilding

This sector is growing fast, which means there are always new and exciting projects on the horizon.

Andrew, General Manager, Precise Manufacturing

If there is something that you want to do, and you want to give back to defence, there is definitely a job out there for you.

Zac, Support Technician, Silentium Defence

What I love most about my job is being able to solve the problems that really matter, knowing that my work contributes to Australia’s national security and economic growth.

Trent, Senior Systems Engineer, Nova Systems

You don’t need to be in the armed forces or necessarily have experience in the defence industry in order to be successful and have a rewarding career. The industry is growing, well-funded and rampant with opportunity…I can’t see myself moving on anytime soon.

Rozanne, Senior Financial Accountant, PMB Defence

A lot of people study engineering and do very little engineering in their day to day role. I wanted to be doing calculations and getting my hands dirty in a work shop. I also wanted to be working at the forefront of technology development. This made defence the obvious choice.

Seth, Mechanical Engineer, PMB Defence

I love the culture of our company and the tech we get to work with. The defence industry as a whole has so much to offer in terms of ground breaking technology. We get to develop really cool products and go out in the field testing them. It’s a really interesting industry with so many different aspects that can be worked on.

Christian, Graduate Software Engineer, Silentium Defence

People should definitely consider a career in the defence industry, it takes all types to do the work that we do and there’s lots of opportunities for growth. Adelaide is not only a really nice place to live it’s a really fantastic place to work especially if you are in the defence industry.

Kyal, Digital Specialist, BAE Systems ASC Shipbuilding

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