Melbourne’s Robogal named as Young Australian of the Year 2012

The University of Melbourne congratulates engineering student Marita Cheng who has been named The Young Australian of the Year 2012. Marita, the daughter of Chinese parents, regularly encourages girls to pursue engineering studies and careers.

While still a university student, Marita Cheng has demonstrated vision and leadership well beyond her years and is dedicated to encouraging young women to become interested in an engineering career.

Marita founded Robogals Global in 2008, as a response to the traditionally low levels of participation by women in science, engineering and technology. Robogals Global uses fun and educational activities to teach secondary school girls about science and technology. By 2010, Robogals

had run workshops for 3,000 girls in Australia and has now expanded to 17 branches across Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

Marita’s own career path includes studying for a Bachelor of Engineering and a Bachelor of Computer Science on a Paterson Scholarship. She has been a recipient of the Nancy Fairfax Churchill Fellowship, an International Youth Foundation Youth Action Net Fellowship and an Anita Borg Change Agent Award.

Marita who has also been a panelist on ABC TV’s New Inventors hopes to become the founder of a robotics company, creating robots that will take care of many everyday and mundane tasks. Already she is changing the occupational landscape for women.

"I am thrilled and honoured to be named the Young Australian of the Year for 2012. When I started Robogals, I was focused on working towards increasing awareness among girls about Engineering careers. But my message goes deeper than that; it says to girls you are allowed to follow and achieve your dreams and in a country such as Australia, it is possible," she said.

Acting Dean of the Melbourne School of Engineering, Professor Peter Scales is delighted that Marita had placed the spotlight on girls and careers. "The University of Melbourne congratulates Marita on being the Young Australian of the Year and for being an inspiration to young women everywhere. She has boundless energy and is helping to give Australia the next generation of Engineers."