SDG4 Quality Education

Specific Events in 2021

• First Lego League
• CQUniversity's Festival of Change
• Queensland Indigenous Family Violence Prevention Forum
• Central Queensland Engineering Link Project 2021

Programmed Events in 2021

• CQUniversity has partnered with Central Highlands Community Services (CHCS) with funding from the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal to deliver the Central Highlands Social Enterprise Project. This project included a number of events and workshops across the Central Highlands communities to develop skills in working in social enterprise organisations.
• Conoco Philips Science experience held annually at CQUniversity Gladstone.
• The annual CQUniversity ConnectAbility event was held at CQUniversity Mackay where students and staff from Mackay State High Schools met at the CQUni Ooralea campus to experience their local campus and explore the inclusive post-schooling options available to students living with a disability.
• QMEA events are hosted on Gladstone campus
• NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across our many campuses.
• CQUniversity hosted a three-day Social Innovation Workshop focused around ‘How might we design a central hub where young people engage and interact with health services alongside diverse community members in order to create higher levels of access and reduce health inequality?’

Specific Events in 2021

• CQUniverisity held the Health Workforce Academy Virtual Conference  2021
• A 3-day Social Innovation Workshop was held  in June 2021

Programmed Events in 2021

• We offer a range of professional development courses to the general public.
• Our vocational education and training short courses are also available to the general public with manyfully subsidised courses for eligible applicants.
• CQUniversity students took place in the annual "Big Idea" competition.
• CQUniversity's annual  Festival of Change returned, despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Women in STEM -  With only one-quarter of students studying STEM in Australia being women, CQUniversity aims to inspire young women to pursue careers in science through programs and events including Whitsunday STEM Challenge and the 2021 CQU Qld Pedal Prix Super Series. Events such as these work to change society's gender assumptions about scientists and increase the public visibility of women in STEM.
• Women in Agri-Tech project, a project that aimed to create and foster a strong network of female teachers who will become leaders in digital literacy, STEM, entrepreneurship in regional, rural and remote areas.
• Women in Innovation and Sustainability -  CQUniversity's annual Festival of Change is an online and on campus event celebrating and inspiring social innovation. The 2021 launch event, Female Champions of Sustainability showcased a panel of female innovators and entrepreneurs and aimed to inspire other women to create change by sharing their experiences and achievements.
• Queensland Centre of Domestic and Family Violence Research - Queensland Centre for Domestic and Family Violence Research (QCDFVR) is based in Mackay and contributes to the prevention of domestic and family violence by informing, promoting and supporting the actions of individuals, communities, services and governments through state-wide leadership in research, professional development, education and community engagement.
• Girls STEM Camp: CQUniversity hosted over 40 female high school students from account the region and on Curtis Island, promoting courses and seagrass restoration research. CMERC researchers ran an activity with the Boyne Island Environmental Education Centre.
• Seven Women: CQUniversity through appointed social innovation ambassadors called “Change Champs” has partnered with Nepal-based social enterprise, Seven Women, for project collaboration and global study experiences. Seven Women has helped thousands of disadvantaged and disabled women through education, training, health and income generation programs. The Seven Women range is available through the Bookshop thanks to a collaboration with the Office of Social Innovation, and every purchase supports women in Nepal through education, training, health and income-generation programs.

• Widening Participation Strategy - CQUniversity has a widening participation strategy that aims to promote higher education to low socioeconomic, regional and remote, and indigenous school students and sees our CQUni Connect team partnering with schools to deliver programs outreach programs.
• Choices Program - CQUniversity students engage with police and community stakeholders in delivering a theatre production called Choices to year 12 high school students as part of the preparation for post year 12 celebrations.
• First Lego League - First Lego League Challenge is a competition catering to upper-primary and lower-secondary school students. Every year, teams of up to 10 students build, program and compete with a robot, while also learning about a modern problem in science and engineering and developing solutions for it.
• Safety Circus – conveys road safety and personal safety messages to year 3 school students. This product has been operating since 2012.
• PreQUIP - Year 10 Indigenous students attended CQUni as part of their career development to investigate potential career opportunities in the region.
• Queensland Virtual STEM Academy - Students from several schools were lucky enough to access seagrass meadows and coral rock pools to collect seagrass seeds, assisting with the research CMERC are currently undertaking as well as experiencing some hands-on STEM activities on the barge.
• RoboCup Junior Competition - CQUniversity was proud to support the next generation of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) enthusiasts at the recent RoboCup Junior competition in Mackay. By exposing school-aged kids to STEM and giving them opportunities to explore its concepts, they will hopefully develop a passion for it and pursue a job in a related field.
• Townsville Campus Science Experience - CQUniversity Townsville played host to over a dozen high school students this week for the Townsville Campus Science Experience. Year 9 and 10 students from across the region travelled to attend the three-day event for the opportunity to explore a range of scientific fields, including Virtual Reality, Biodiversity and Data Analysis.
• CQ Conservatorium of Music Summer Spectacular-  – The interactive drama program saw Mackay secondary drama students work with guest director Dale Pengelly to hone their theatre skills in a one-week intensive workshop.
• CQ Junior Robotics Competition – Open to school students in years 4 – 12 within the Central Queensland region, CQUniversity hosts the CQ Junior Robotics Competition and it provides a fun environment for students to develop pivotal skills in problem-solving, creativity, critical thinking and teamwork.
• Educating Kids  about Agriculture QLD - The Agri-Tech team travelled to North Queensland as part of the Kids to Farm project to increase primary school aged children's understanding of agriculture and its importance on Australia's way of life.
• RACE - Gippsland will deliver a range of hands-on, interactive, and engaging activities to primary and secondary students focused on raising aspirations in agriculture and building student capacity in STEM, digital technologies, agribusiness, manufacturing and food and fibre concepts.

• Project Booyah - CQUniversity is a training partner in Project Booyah which provides educational opportunities for at-risk young people. It is a partnership between CQUniversity and the Queensland Police Force
• Smith Family Learning for Life program – CQUniversity partners with The Smith Family to deliver the Learning for Life Program. The Smith Family is a charity that supports financially disadvantaged young people with assistance in maintaining their educational aspirations. The University is working with Rockhampton and Mackay Learning for Life staff to open up pathways to higher education for scholarship families, through information sessions and by supplying families with university program and scholarship information.
• Seagrass: Citizen Scientist Program - This initiative engages volunteer community members to collect seagrass flowers in Gladstone Harbour, for the final harvest of the season.  This is part of the Sea Flowers: Growing Community Engagement for Seagrass Restoration Project and teaches volunteers how to work together to ensure the restoration of the vital flora.
• Parasites in the Wild - Citizen Scientist Program - Participants developed a project plan addressing a hypothesis through the scientific method. Participants collected and identified ticks using field and laboratory equipment and easy-to-understand identification keys. Citizen Scientists will be able to get hands-on in the design and construction of laboratory and field equipment, including tick traps.
• WinTECH Society - The Women in Technology (WinTECH) Society has developed free online workshops teaching students skills in data science using Excel and Python software. The workshops encourage students to choose STEM career paths.
• CQUniversity Gladstone’s STEM Central - It’s a state-of-the-art experience that takes science, technology, engineering and mathematics out of the classroom and into the real world, one of the highlights of STEM Central has been the diversity of people who use of the facility – from five-year-old children getting their first experience of flying a drone, primary and high school groups from right across the region, then Indigenous elders, and even senior citizens.
• Mission Australia Coffee Van Partnership - A hospitality training partnership between CQUniversity and Mission Australia will help provide valuable skills and employment opportunities to people experiencing homelessness and disadvantage in Cairns.
• Student Health Clinics -Our Student Health Clinics operate in Rockhampton, Mackay, Sydney, and Brisbane. These clinics are a collaboration between health care practitioners and our students to deliver local health services in oral health, speech pathology, physiotherapy, podiatry, and chiropractic services.
• Australian Defence Force Reservists - In the past year, several CQUniversity employees have been deployed with the ADF Reserves in response to the national bushfire crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. CQUniversity’s commitment to supporting staff to engage in such activity led to it being announced as the 2020 Defence Reserve Employer Support Award winner under the not-for-profit organisation category.

Studying abroad for a year, term or even just a couple of weeks is a very rewarding and educational experience. You will have opportunities to travel, make friends from around the world, enhance your employment prospects and possibly even learn another language. Above all, you will gain a fresh perspective on the world around you. We are all part of an increasingly globalised world and international study will give you a cultural awareness and life experience that will set you apart from your peers.

Due to the impact of Covid-19, the Global Outreach programs available for students at CQUniversity were interrupted in 2021 however students are excited to be able to restart these projects when available.

• GGC Volunteers LTD: Our Physiotherapy students, all funded under the Federal Government's New Colombo Plan, visited Vietnam and conducted clinics and therapy sessions within 10 different youth centres, charity clinics or schools.
• Nepal's Fishtail Hospital: CQUniversity Bachelor shadowed staff at Nepal's Fishtail Hospital. Exposing them to areas such as paediatrics, intensive care, medical and surgical, theatre, maternity, outpatient clinics, renal dialysis, accident and emergency, and medical imaging. They also provided health assessments and education to locals in rural villages.
• Malaysian Theatre Production: Performing the joint production of Chess The Musical by CQUniversity's Central Queensland Conservatorium of Music and the Bentley Music Academy of Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur.
• Cambodian Children's Fund: CQUniversity Oral Health students provided dental services to impoverished children at schools during their trip to Cambodia. The project was run by the Cambodian Children's Fund and the People Improvement Organisation.
• Antipodeans Abroad: Thailand's Rachawadee disability centres recently welcomed 16 of CQUniversity's Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy and Exercise and Sports Science students. Students were able to work in multidisciplinary teams to work with residents who have a variety of significant physical disabilities and learning difficulties.
• Wild Medic Project: Nine CQUniversity Paramedic students and two lecturers travelled to Nepal to assist with priority screening at a remote health clinic

Our students benefit from access to educations resources such as computers, library, online courses, lecturers and other learning resources as follows:

• Library (Free Access):  Our students, alumni, the general public, and students from other universities can borrow from CQUniversity libraries as per our Library guidelines.
• Computers (Free Access): Students from other universities are able to access our wireless network (eduroam) from CQUniversity facilities as per our eduroam guidelines. Visitors to CQUniversity may be able to use computer facilities at CQUniversity as a “visitor” in accordance with our Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure (refer Clause 3.2).
• Online Courses (Free Access): the general public can access our Bachelor of Laws course material via iTunes U.
• Courses (Fees apply): our courses are available for community members and the general public to study. We offer professional development courses that can be studied without needing to apply and enrol in a full degree (an award course). We also offer a range of short courses for the general public and community to follow a personal interest or passion. Like our Professional Development Courses, our short courses do not require you to be enrolled in a degree.  We also provide single non-award study opportunities that enable those note interested in studying a full degree to study a single unit without having to enrol in the degree.

CQUniversity's Equity Policy ensures that we take all necessary steps to create a safe, fair, equitable and inclusive learning and work environment. It ensures that no matter your ethnicity, religion, disability or gender you have access to activities, programs and opportunities provided and delivered by CQUniversity. This policy also guides us as we take a positive role in informing and educating students and staff of their rights and responsibilities in fostering a learning community that values equality. We do not tolerate unlawful discrimination, harassment or victimisation in any form.