.png)
.png)
Empowering the Next Generation of Female Innovators
AS SEEN ON
The Orbispace Initiative (TOI) is a charity delivering future-ready education programs equipping the next generation of female leaders with the STEAM skills, experience, and networks to thrive as innovators across future industries. TOI teaches technical capabilities alongside soft skills, such as confidence, creativity, and communication, empowering young women to envision and become their aspirations.
To address the critical underrepresentation of women in STEM, TOI grows the talent pipeline by engaging girls at the pivotal moment when they make decisions about their high school elective subjects. Our programs are co-designed with leading industry and education partners and are fully mapped to the Australian Curriculum. TOI delivers hybrid teacher-student experiences that integrate future-of-work skills, industry-led content, and global mentorship. By upskilling educators alongside their students, TOI ensures that teachers remain connected to cutting-edge tools and industry insight that transform classroom learning.
Industry plays a central role in TOI’s model as co-designers, mentors and future employers. The industry leaders contributing to TOI represent more than 100 organisations across the ecosystem. Their direct involvement gives students early access to role models career pathways shaping the future economy.
TOI advances equity by tackling economic, social, cultural, geographic, and digital barriers. Our mission is also grounded in stewardship and sustainability. We prepare young women to solve the defining challenges of their generation, from climate and energy, to AI. By empowering young women to lead and innovate, TOI is shaping a more inclusive, sustainable, and competitive future workforce for Australia.
.png)
.png)
Sarah Carney
National CTO Microsoft ANZ
"To say I am an advocate for the TOI program feels like an understatement. What stands out to me with this program is how well rounded it is, delivering access to new ways of thinking about STEM, creating engagement for students that stretches them, but is at a level that keeps them deeply engaged. The big differentiator for me is how well rounded the program is. Alongside the core focus on STEM and creating visibility to pathways and careers in this space, the program also builds critical life skills such as collaboration, critical thinking and mental agility.
What really struck me at Pitch for the Planet was the innovative approaches and thinking, but more than that, the way in which they presented it. I had to keep reminding myself how old these students were because what they delivered was truly excellent, well rounded and showed a maturity in approach that exceeded all my expectations."
TOI's Impact in Numbers
.png)
STEM SUBJECTS
& CAREERS
80% of students who complete TOI's grade 8 course select a STEM elective for grades 9 and 10. TOI students are 50% more likely to pick STEM subjects (vs those who are not part of the program), and 80% express an interest in Maths (vs. 52% national average). STEM Equity Monitor, 2024
.png)
CONFIDENCE, LEADERSHIP & COMMUNICATION
92% of TOI students report that TOI has boosted their confidence, 91% say TOI has helped them become a more effective group member, and 84% of TOI students report that their communication skills have improved because of their participation in TOI program.
.png)
VISION, NETWORKS & PATHWAYS
95% of TOI students report that TOI has shown a variety of pathways open to women, 78% report that TOI has inspired them to consider building their own business, and 98% say that TOI showed them how STEM skills can solve the world’s problems.
Connecting the Dots
We work in partnership with governments, corporate leaders, entrepreneurs, NGOs and educators, to provide students and educators with unparalleled access to:
INDUSTRY
Inviting our community into the Sydney Startup Hub– Australia’s largest startup ecosystem and government funded infrastructure housing leading incubators and accelerators
ECOSYSTEM
Networked events and partnerships facilitating engagement with hundreds of global thought leaders, academics, corporate innovators, policy makers, founders, and CEOs
MENTORSHIP
Professional development, leadership and communication coaching, entrepreneurship and hands on experiential STEM learning
EDUCATION
Scalable in-classroom resources to accompany a cutting edge curriculum with real world case studies– enriching student engagement with the school STEM curriculum and providing learning experiences that go beyond the classroom
Our Methodology
ONE
We identify the most desirable skillsets for the future of work and for students to succeed as STEM innovators
TWO
We map existing school curriculum learning objectives to these skillsets to reveal the biggest gaps
THREE
We curate our own enrichment curriculum to address gaps, including measurable objectives, benchmarking and assessment
FOUR
We develop live experiential learning activities to deliver new opportunities to students at school, and in industry
TOI is delivered in partnership with Tank Stream Labs, a technology focused coworking ecosystem.
TSL are a breeding ground for entrepreneurs and specialised industry leaders. They are a dynamic community that supports innovation, collaboration, brilliance, excellence, and entrepreneurship.
Every year, TSL welcome students to The Sydney Startup Hub for industry-led events and networking. They assist TOI in showcasing the future of work for the next generation of female talent.