Teenagers warm up winter at National Indigenous Business Summer School
Teenagers from the Gold Coast to Cairns have spent their winter holidays coming up with hot ideas and networking with industry during the National Indigenous Business Summer School (NIBSS) at QUT in Brisbane.
It’s the first time the summer school has been held in Queensland, after its original January dates were delayed due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Fifteen First Nations students in Year 11 and 12 were selected for the event, coming from Mt Isa, Innisfail, Townsville, Cairns, Banana, Mission Beach, Rockhampton, Mackay, Caboolture, and the Gold Coast.
Their central task was a business case competition at QUT’s Gardens Point campus, where they worked in teams to come up with ideas for a project or service that could be activated by Indigenous communities in the lead-up to the 2032 Olympic Games.
Two teams came up with creative art installation proposals, while the third team developed an innovative idea to use recycled waste in the manufacturing of equipment for Paralympians.
Associate Professor Leesa Watego from the QUT Business School co-developed the program with business school colleague Bianca Hill-Jarro and said the week, which included field trips to work sites (such as the ABC studios, pictured above), had been a great success.
“It was a fantastic week – the students got a taste test of what Brisbane life was like, and what university life was like … but it wasn’t all social fun, they worked really hard,” she said.
“Their challenge in the business case competition was created to look like a government tender and all the briefings were delivered by Indigenous presenters who were experts in fields ranging from finance to communications to stakeholder relations. Some of our presenters were from government and others were small business owners.
“For some of the students, it was their first time on a university campus and their first experience of an immersive week like this. So we wanted to make sure they felt welcomed and supported, which included being mentored by some of our QUT First Nations business students.
“We chose to base the business case around the 2032 Olympics because there will be so many opportunities for Queensland businesses over the next decade.
“These school students will all be around 27 by the time the Olympics are here – they will have finished school, finished uni, maybe own a business of their own or be working on projects with organisations. This experience will have given them a taste of how opportunities can be leveraged.”
During the week-long event, the students also visited Griffith University and UQ, and went on field trips to the ABC studios at South Bank, the Fujitsu data centre at Eight Mile Plains, and BDO, PwC, and Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand in the Brisbane CBD.
QUT’s Executive Dean of Business and Law, Professor Amanda Gudmundsson, said the NIBSS was an initiative of the Australian Business Deans Council, with summer schools held each year at universities around Australia.
“The National Indigenous Business Summer School has been running since 2018 in New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia, but this is the first time it has been held in Queensland,” Professor Gudmundsson said.
“QUT is proud to be the inaugural Queensland host and it was a joy to see these talented students embrace the program and the real-world experience of collaborating in teams with the help of industry experts and our academics and students.”
The NIBSS is delivered in partnership with other Queensland universities including Bond University, Griffith University, James Cook University, University of Queensland, and University of the Sunshine Coast.
** Find out more about studying business – and other degrees – at the QUT Open Day on Sunday, July 31, at Gardens Point campus (with tours also available at Kelvin Grove campus). If you can’t attend in person, you can also log on to QUT Virtual Open Night on August 31.
QUT Media contacts:
- Mechelle McMahon, media@qut.edu.au
- After hours, 0407 585 901 or media@qut.edu.au
