Jameson Harvey: Developing Tech Skills in Regional Students
In a world where access to quality STEM education often depends on where a child lives, ACS Member and Young Tech Ambassador Jameson Harvey is on a mission to upskill Aussie kids through coding and robotics, one outback town at a time.
After discovering his passion for robotics through the FIRST LEGO League, where his team placed second globally in 2019, Jameson didn’t take the conventional path after high school. Instead, he hit the road in his trusty Troopy, launching Red Dirt Robotics—a grassroots initiative bringing hands-on robotics, drones and 3D printing workshops to regional and remote communities across Australia at no cost to students and schools.
Founded in 2022, Red Dirt Robotics was born from a simple but powerful belief: postcode should never determine opportunity. With rural students often falling 1.5 years behind their metropolitan peers in STEM subjects, Jameson saw an urgent need and an opportunity to make a difference.
Since then, Red Dirt Robotics has:
- Driven more than 300,000 kms
- Impacted 5,000+ students and hundreds of teachers
- Delivered workshops in robotics, drone tech and 3D printing
- Partnered with schools across Queensland and beyond
- Provided free teacher training to ensure long-term impact
Jameson’s work hasn’t gone unnoticed. He’s been named an ABC Heywire Trailblazer, won the pitch event at Social Impact in the Regions, received grants including the Backing the Future Grant from the Vincent Fairfax Family Foundation and Toyota Community Trust STEM grant and completed a three-month tour visiting 34 schools and delivering 64 workshops to over 900 students and 100 educators.
In 2025, Jameson has led the way as part of the ACS Young Tech Ambassadors program. Funded by the Department of Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation, this Queensland-based program organises emerging tech role models (YTAs) to visit schools and share their tech career pathway with students. Jameson has completed two regional road trips as a YTA, travelling 2,200-kilometre to talk to more than 2,100 students and their teachers across 18 schools in south-west and central Queensland.
But beyond the numbers, it’s the spark in a student’s eye when they code their first robot or fly a drone for the first time that drives Jameson’s mission forward. Jameson Harvey is more than a robotics educator. He’s another outstanding ACS Member who is prioritising outreach and social impact to promote digital careers and increase the pipeline of workers into our industry.
To continue his important work in 2026, Jameson needs support from generous organisations in the tech industry and beyond. If you would like to find out how, contact Matthew Jorgensen at techambassador@acs.org.au.