Director Steve Broni said the academy was for year 13 pupils and the aim was to support science education in rural and provincial areas.
The 55 pupils attending the academy had been nominated by their teachers as potentially high achievers, Mr Broni said.
The pupils were able to learn from leading scientists across different disciplines, and later in the year they would return to present a science communication project.
Department of botany senior lecturer Dr Matt Larcombe said pupils studying the anatomy of diversity were using biomes to understand how plants on alternative sides of the planet could evolve to have the same functional characteristics.
"Biomes are different regions of the world that have similar climates," Dr Larcombe said.
Plants a far cry from each other could evolve to have similar traits, despite otherwise being unrelated species.
Tayla said having access to superior technology was one of the highlights of the academy.
"It is really advanced compared to what I have at my school.”
SIMON HENDERSON
