Shore Junction: A place to connect, grow and belong

By Melanie Barr, Community Director, Shore Junction

Shore Junction is a youth innovation hub being created in the heart of Takapuna. It is being designed as a space for young people to connect, belong and grow. Shore Junction will offer youth-friendly facilities and integrated services that support innovation, learning, wellbeing and creativity, enabling young people to accelerate their potential and embark on their future pathways to success.

What is the ‘Science, Engineering and Maths’ pillar?  Shore Junction’s vision is to accelerate the potential of young people and support them towards their future pathways. Alongside local schools, Shore Junction has an important role to play in supporting stronger educational outcomes and positive transitions to higher education, employment and enterprise.

Through its Science, Engineering & Maths pillar, Shore Junction provides meaningful learning opportunities in ‘real world’ contexts to help strengthen young people’s engagement with education.

The ultimate goal is to support young people to feel passionate about self-led learning, to achieve better educational outcomes in priority subject areas, and to be in stronger positions to use their learning in an employment or enterprise context, transitioning more successfully to their future pathways.

“The pillar will spark engagement with science, engineering and maths as key subject areas,” Melanie says, “and will work alongside schools to achieve better educational outcomes for young people.  It will also offer study space and resources, facilitate peer-to-peer learning and support, provide pathways to tertiary education and nurture a youth talent pipeline that responds to current skills gaps and future needs.”

Young people need a safe space where they can connect, belong, learn and develop, Youth Junction believes, and consultation with local youth shows, that they are looking to further their learning in the science, engineering and maths subject areas.

In particular, young people are seeking opportunities to explore the practical applications of learned concepts in the real-world environments of business and enterprise. Melanie says the youth that engaged in co-design of the Science, Engineering & Maths pillar are hungry for experience-based learning and learning styles that contrast and build on the school environment.

“We hope to achieve positive long-term outcomes, including diverse young people engaging with key subject areas; improved educational outcomes; the knowledge and skills to transition more successfully to higher education, business and enterprise; gaps between school, tertiary and business bridged; and a wider North Shore community that is more connected and is delivering for its young people,” Melanie says.

http://www.shorejunction.nz

 


Issue 102 September 2019