We spoke with Blake Noske, who successfully completed the Department of Industry, Science and Resources (DISR) Graduate Development Program in 2024.

Blake's story

Blake holds a Bachelor of Applied Mathematics and Statistics and completed the program while living in Melbourne.

Describe your placements and the work you did

Both of my rotations were with the National Measurements Institute (NMI) and the Commercialisation Division. At NMI, I researched and wrote a report around how NMI could potentially utilise the skills of a team of mathematicians.

In the Commercialisation Division, I worked with the Research and Development (R&D) Tax Incentive branch in the Data team. My role there was to assist in a data migration project.

What was the best advice you received when you started with the department?

The best advice I received was to take full advantage of as many training opportunities as possible. The APS provides many avenues for training and the grad year is the perfect time to do this. Some other great advice was to say ‘yes’ whenever someone says to go for coffee. People are extra nice to grads.

What was the highlight of your experience in the Graduate Development Program?

A highlight for me was networking opportunities within the STEM stream. We had several events throughout the year that allowed us to connect and get to know other grads in the APS.

Why did you choose to work at DISR and what is your favourite thing about the department?

I chose to work at DISR because I’ve always had a drive to work in the public service. DISR’s work with STEM really aligned with what I studied at university.