SDG4 Quality Education

Specific Events in 2023

• iActivate in Toowoomba- social entrepreneurs from the Toowoomba region undertook the iActivate program to build a better future for their region.
• iActivate in Far North Queensland
• iActivate Regional Female Founder Accelerator- this program is curated by women, for women, and addresses specific challenges for driving innovative business and social impact in regional Queensland. 
• The Social Shift- CQUniversity social impact experts helped deliver a series of workshops in the Bundaberg region for grant recipients and people interested in social innovation.
• Hydrogen Grand Prix- The Hydrogen Grand Prix initiative is the only one globally for high school students where they spent two school terms (Term 4, 2022 & Term 1, 2023) learning about renewable energy and design, build and improve remote-controlled fuel cell electric vehicles. The vehicles are then put through a series of endurance races with the best teams each year facing off at the H2GP World Cup.
• Uni Boot Camp for ADF Members- CQUniversity is supporting the local Australian Defence Force (ADF) community with the Townsville campus launching the Military Academic Pathway Program (MAPP) - the first of its kind for the region.

Programmed Events in 2023

• Young Engineers Lego Club- CQUniversity hosted workshops in seven regional Queensland towns to school students from Years 1 to 8.
• Festival of Change- The two-week festival features free events across nine campuses and online to celebrate and encourage social innovation.
• Queensland Indigenous Family Violence Prevention Forum-  the Annual Forum is open to the public and brings together workers and champions to learn, share, inspire and work together to keep our families strong.
• QMEA events are hosted on the Gladstone campus.
• NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across our many campuses.

• The Annual Health Workforce Academy Virtual Conference  2023
• Prawn Industry Technology Workshops
• iActivate- CQUniversity and impact-led business Impact Boom are collaborating to offer iActivate – a self-paced, ultra-flexible and affordable online short course, to guide aspiring and early-stage social entrepreneurs from idea to impact.
• 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 many fully subsidised courses for eligible applicants.
• Our annual  Festival of Change returned, despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Young Engineers Lego Club- CQUniversity hosted workshops in seven regional Queensland towns to school students from Years 1 to 8.

We participate in outreach activities and collaborations to encourage increased participation by women in areas where they are historically underrepresented. Explore stories of our activities, workshops and projects that occurred in 2023.

• Indigenous Girls Academy- A CQUniversity-led program that works with young girls at Mount Morgan State High School and Baralaba State School to encourage them to stay in school.
• Women Who Weld- The program aims to build gender diversity in the workplace and address Australia's trade skill shortage by exposing young women to welding.
• 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.
• 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, and entrepreneurship in regional, rural, and remote areas.
• Women in STEM –  with only one-quarter of students studying STEM in Australia being women, we aim to inspire young women to pursue careers in science through programs and events through STEM Central. Events such as these work to change society's gender assumptions about scientists and increase the public visibility of women in STEM.
• 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.
• Seven Women – our university 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.

General

• Widening Participation Strategy – we have a widening participation strategy that aims to promote higher education to low socioeconomic, regional and remote, and indigenous school students and sees our Connect team partnering with schools to deliver programs outreach programs.
• Principal's Recommendation Scheme - Our Principal’s Recommendation Scheme is an early offer scheme that allows Year 12 students to apply to an undergraduate CQUniversity course based on the recommendation of their high school Principal rather than ATAR.

STEM

• Young Engineers Lego Club- CQUniversity hosted workshops in seven regional Queensland towns to school students from Years 1 to 8.
• CQ Junior Robotics Competition – open to school students in years 4 – 12 within the Central Queensland region, we host 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.
• Connecting STEM with Music- over 70 primary school students experienced the connection between STEM and music at the STEM meeting Symphony workshop
• Young Engineers Summer Holiday Workshops- CQUniversity hosted workshops over school holidays to launch kids into STEM

Arts

• Choices Program – our 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.
• Safety Circus – conveys road safety and personal safety messages to year 3 school students. This product has been operating since 2012.
• CQ Conservatorium of Music Summer Performance – 34 high school students travelled to Mackay to attend a week of workshops in preparation for their 30-minute version of Grease.
• Connecting STEM with Music- over 70 primary school students experienced the connection between STEM and music at the STEM meeting Symphony workshop
• CQ Schools Jazz Festival- Since its inception in 2012, CQSJF has been instrumental in providing access to nationally and internationally recognised professional musicians and educators through a range of transformative experiences. From masterclasses and clinics to concert performances, participants engage with industry leaders to hone their skills and broaden their musical horizons.
• Conservatorium Academy- The Conservatorium Academy is a centre for creative and performing arts training for school-age children in Central Queensland.  The aim of this program is to provide music and theatre training as an extension to the dance, drama and music classes that young people may already be engaged in.

Agriculture

• 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.
• RACE- Goulburn brings local Agriculture to the classroom, inspiring students to build their capacity in STEM, digital technologies, agribusiness, manufacturing, food, and fibre

• Project Booyah – we are a training partner in Project Booyah which provides educational opportunities for at-risk young people. It is a partnership between the University and the Queensland Police Force.
• Smith Family Learning for Life program – we partner 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 – Several CQUniversity employees are active in the ADF Reserves and are often deployed to operations in response to various natural disasters that impact on all Australians including bushfires and catastoiphic flooding. Our 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. Students have opportunities to travel, make friends from around the world, enhance employment prospects, and possibly even learn another language. Above all, they will gain a fresh perspective on the world around them. We are all part of an increasingly globalised world and international study gives students a cultural awareness and life experience that will set them apart from their peers.

CQUniversity is reintroducing international travel and global outreach activities with the following occurring in 2023:

• Bangladesh School- CQUniversity academic Olav Muurlink heads a charity that is building and running cyclone-proof schools in Bangladesh.
• Wildlife Law and Protection in Vietnam- The tour partners with Education for Nature Vietnam and Vietnam National University School of Law and allows CQUniversity law students to understand first-hand the legal, cultural and environmental context of wildlife protection and illegal trafficking.
• New Colombo Plan- scholarships were awarded to three CQUniversity undergraduates to travel to our Indo-Pacific neighbours.
• CQUniversity's School of Nursing' Midwifery and Social Sciences (SNMSS) in Mackay partnered with Rotary to deliver workshop programs to a group of nurses and midwives from Timor-Leste.
• Bachelor of Education students travelled to Cambodia to provide education to children from Koh Dach Primary School.
• Pokhara Fishtail Hospital, Nepal - CQUniversity students on clinical placements 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.
• Salaam Baalak Trust, India - CQUniversity is a partner with the Salaam Baalak Trust and supports its WALK project. CQUniversity health students visit Salaam Baalak and participate in local health projects.

You can find out more on our CQUGlobal Outbound page.

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 our libraries as per our Library guidelines.
• Computers (free access) – students from other universities are able to access our wireless network (eduroam) from our facilities as per our eduroam guidelines. Visitors may be able to use computer facilities 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 not interested in studying a full degree to study a single unit without having to enrol in the degree.
• Courses (Fully subsidised) - Our vocational education and training short courses are open for enrolment all year. Many courses are fully subsidised for eligible applicants.