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, [...]
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 [...]
Naida Rasheed is new to South Australia, having relocated from Sydney to join Southern Launch as a Launch Engineer. Space has always been on Naida’s radar. Growing up, she and her father often spoke about space, the pinnacle being the purchase of a family telescope. Spending many evenings zooming in on the rings of Saturn and the craters of the Moon, Naida’s passion was ignited. But was a career in space really possible in Australia? “Early on, when I was [...]
After starting out as a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Australian Air Force, Dr Jordan Plotnek took advantage of South Australia’s booming space industry, and sky-rocketed toward a career in space cyber security. Jordan’s days are now spent democratising their knowledge and expertise as a Senior Lecturer and Researcher at UniSA, and as Critical Infrastructure Lead and Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) for veteran-owned professional services firm, Anchoram Consulting. Growing up, Jordan’s curiosity for wireless communications piqued at the drive-in theatre. [...]
In a time not all that long ago, you could have been forgiven for thinking a career in the space industry was something you would have to go overseas to do, and it involved being a rocket scientist or astronaut flying to the moon. This is definitely not the case with a range of exciting careers now available in South Australia in an industry that’s making a difference to the way we live, and helping to create a sustainable future. [...]
Antennas are everywhere. There are tiny ones in every mobile phone and laptop, and in the hardware that helps them connect to wi-fi. They are in the security tags that prevent shoplifting in stores. They’re in medical devices that can detect cancerous tumours. And, of course, there are the big ones that capture signals from satellites in space. Zahra Esmati has been fascinated by antennas ever since she studied telecommunications back in her home country of Iran. Now, she’s is [...]
There’s never been a better time to join South Australia’s defence and space industries, with workers needed now to get started on a lucrative career, spanning decades. Recent research conducted by Defence SA shows that while the defence industry alone in South Australia is expected to need an additional 10,000 people over the next 10 years, not everyone is aware of the career opportunities available in the state. Defence SA Chief Executive Richard Price said the highest priority for South [...]