Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Higher Education Portal and Social Marketing Strategy projects
On Thursday 20 March 2014, Queensland University of Technology Director Oodgeroo Unit, Professor Anita Lee Hong and Project Officer Lone Pearce visited Western Australia to workshop the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Higher Education Social Marketing Strategy and Portal projects. Associate Professor Clive Walley, Head of Indigenous Curriculum at the University of Notre Dame, and NCSEHE’s Professor Sue Trinidad, Louisa Bowman, and Dr Cathy Cupitt all attended the workshop, which was held within Curtin’s Centre for Aboriginal Studies.
The Social Marketing Strategy project aims to:
- Build the aspiration in relation to higher education of potential Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, parents, community, teachers and career advisors
- Ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are aware of and know how to access all of the resources and services that are available to help them become academically prepared
- Increase the flow of accurate and current information to potential and existing Indigenous higher education students, and
- Promote social networking opportunities for existing students to form online cohorts, source advice or opinion from peers and share their higher education journey with others.
The Portal project aims to:
- Provide a convenient starting point for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to find in-depth, accurate and up-to-date information on every aspect of the Australian higher education system through a consistent, culturally competent and unified web-based interface, and
- Improve access to information by students, potential students, parents and key influencers, strengthen the quality and consistency of content, and allow information to be brought together and disseminated in a timely, equitable and efficient manner.
QUT received Higher Education and Participation Partnership Program (HEPPP) funding of $2.5 Million from the Australian Government Department of Education in order to complete the projects, which will address a number of priorities arising from the Behrendt Review.