During the school holidays, a team of Year 10 students from the Academy of Mary Immaculate took their ideas to a global stage, presenting at an online Kids Conference held in partnership with the University of Oxford.
The students developed an idea during their Year 9 Synergy program, a distinctive Year 9 initiative that takes Melbourne itself as its classroom. One day each week, students step outside traditional subject boundaries to investigate real-world challenges, apply design thinking, and develop solutions that matter to their communities.
Hannah, Isabelle, Mabel and Sophie presented their vision for the Liberty App, a safety app concept designed to help women navigate the city with greater confidence and security. The students behind Liberty identified a genuine gap: that women often modify their behaviour in public spaces out of concern for their safety. Their app concept draws on community-reported data, safe route mapping, and peer support networks to address that reality head-on.
The students presented their project concept to an international audience, engaging directly with academics, educators and fellow young innovators from around the world. What they showed wasn’t just creative thinking, it was entrepreneurship with a conscience. Social justice and equity were woven through their work, reflecting the Mercy values that have shaped the College for nearly 170 years.
“These young women aren’t just developing business thinking, they’re asking how their ideas can make a genuine difference,” said Sherine Baydoun, Year 9 Synergy Leader.
For families considering secondary school options, Synergy offers a compelling glimpse into what learning at the Academy looks like in practice. Students don’t just study the world, they engage, question and propose ways to improve it, with the confidence to take their ideas to an international audience.
The Academy of Mary Immaculate is an independent Catholic girls’ school in Fitzroy, Melbourne, with a 170-year history founded by the Sisters of Mercy.
Enrolments for Year 7 2028 are now open.
Independent Catholic girls Years 7 to 12 Established in 1857, The Academy is uniquely placed in both history and location. […]