The QUT Winter School for Indigenous students brought together students from Queensland, South Australia and New South Wales to get a glimpse into life after school.
Each student had to apply for the week-long camp and once they were selected they participated in a range of on and off campus activities facilitated by QUT faculty staff and site visits.
They completed workshops at QUT’s The Cube – Australia’s largest interactive and learning display centre for STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) studies.
Other activities included chemistry experiments, including an introduction into the use of forensics and a trip to the Australian Army’s Gallipoli Barracks as well as physical training sessions.
The Indigenous Australian Science and Infrastructure Development (SID) winter school has a strong focus on science, technology, stakeholder engagement, urban development and planning.
Thirty-two students were hosted by QUT’s Oodgeroo Unit with support of global engineering firm WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff, the Queensland and South Australian Governments, the Brisbane-based philanthropic organisation the Bryan Foundation and CareerTrackers.
“The camp is about bringing together a wide variety of children and letting them know about the wide variety of career opportunities available to them,” said Professor Anita Hong, QUT's Oodgeroo Unit director.
“The SID winter school is about demystifying university to Indigenous students and encouraging their interest into higher education.”
WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff Regional Director, Gerard Ryan praised the program’s success in reaching out to a broader community of students.
“This year’s school has been very rewarding and special. It goes above and beyond our core business and we are pleased to continue our partnership with QUT in a unique program that is leading the way in enabling Indigenous high school students to pursue science and maths in tertiary studies and into exciting careers in our industry," he said.
"It’s been great to see the positive interaction between the students and our team, and we’ve received a lot of great feedback about the program which seems to be getting better every year.”
Photos of the winter school can be downloaded via flickr and can be made available to media upon request.
Media contact:- media@qut.edu.au or 07 3138 2361
