Student Activities Aligned to the SDGs

Salaam Baalak Trust

We continued our sponsorship of the Salaam Baalak Trust (SBT) in New Delhi India, which provides volunteering opportunities for CQUniversity students and scholarships for street and working children in New Delhi. CQUniversity staff and students are invited to join the CQUni Friendship Group, this group engages students and staff to contribute ways of assisting the SBT to continue its work and assist with fundraising activities.

Share the Dignity Collection

Mackay and Rockhampton staff and students support this charity for adult women, teens and mothers by donating general and feminine hygiene products for women experiencing hardship. Share the Dignity is a women's charity in Australia that works to make a difference in the lives of those experiencing homelessness, fleeing domestic violence or those doing it tough by providing hygiene products to restore women's dignity.

Christmas Hamper Collection

Mackay staff and students participated in a 'reverse advent calendar' program where non-perishable food and goods were collected to create hampers. These hampers were donated to local charities to distribute to those in need.

CQUniversity Student Health Clinics

Our Student Health Clinics operate in Rockhampton, Mackay, 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. Students also participated in many community outreach activities throughout the year including providing health services to the homeless, people living with disabilities, and the wider community at events such as the Rocky River Run. 

RUOK Day

CQUniversity Campuses across Australia participated in R U OK Day with various events on campus to promote engagement, togetherness and encourage open discussions about mental health by asking each other if they are ok.

Hands on Health Australia (HoHA)

A partnership with Hands on Health Australia (HoHA) and Mackay's student Chiropractic Clinic provided opportunities for clinical chiropractic students to gain experience by providing support and treatment to the elderly and homeless in Mackay.

10,000 Steps Program

CQUniversity leads the 10,000 Steps program to improve community health and wellbeing. It is a program that started in Rockhampton and is now a national community-based health initiative. Challenges are held throughout the year for staff and students to participate in and reach their daily steps. 

Future Female Conference

The Future Female Conference is an annual event to connect and empower international students in Victoria is going virtual and hopes to reach its biggest audience yet despite COVID-19 challenges. The sessions are Transition into Workplace Culture in a Globalised World and a Mentoring Masterclass with education and business leaders including International Business Development Manager Alison Gutierrez. 

Ally Program Network

There is an Ally Program Network on Moodle as a connection point for any student who would like to be involved, with resources, links, and forums. It is a place for students to access support and get in contact with an Ally.

Beach Day Out

CQUni physiotherapy students took part in the annual Beach Day Out by assisting disabled children and pediatrics.

Little Deadlies Day Out

Speech Pathology, Occupational therapy and Oral health students attended Little Deadlies Day Out in Rockhampton. Little Deadlies Day Out is an annual event for the community held on the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day. The event aims to highlight the benefits of early education and the importance of how a kindergarten program can set a child up for lifelong learning. 

Homeless Connect

Oral health and Physiotherapy students attended the annual Homeless Connect event in Rockhampton.

CQUniversity Performing Arts Initiatives

A theatre production involving Bachelor of Theatre and Bachelor of Music students and the Queensland Police Force. This collaboration has received recognition as a successful community engagement health promotion initiative.

• Choices – conveys personal safety messages to high school students about to celebrate leaving school. This project has been running since 1999.
• Safety Circus – conveys road safety and personal safety messages to year 3 school students. This product has been operating since 2012.

Clean Up Australia

CQUniversity has ‘stepped up’ its commitment to a cleaner, healthier tomorrow by becoming the first university to join Clean Up Australia as a Platinum Business Supporter and we will be continuing our support to the organisation. 150 volunteers were involved in the 2021 Clean Up Australia Activities with more than one tonne of rubbish collected.

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.
• CQU Connect engages with school partners to deliver outreach for Year 6 to Year 12 students via independent learning modules, classroom activities and on campus events. We work to raise aspirations towards tertiary education and ensure students from regional, remote, low socio-economic and First Nation communities develop confidence by feeling connect to tertiary education. Via this program we work in partnership with other institutions and focus on encouraging students towards any tertiary education options they desire although we of course hope to see them graduate from CQUniversity one day.
• 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

• CQ Junior Robotics Competition – Registration is open to students from Years 4 to 12 in Central Queensland, provides an engaging environment for young minds to develop skills in problem-solving, creativity, critical thinking, and teamwork. Hosted annually by CQUniversity since 2002, the event offers various categories, including soccer, dance, and rescue, allowing participants to explore robotics in ways that align with their interests. This educational initiative highlights the fun and excitement of science, engineering, and technology through a hands-on, multidisciplinary approach. Students work on designing and programming robots to tackle real-world challenges, learning to adapt to complex and changing environments. The competition promotes collaboration and encourages students to broaden their knowledge across disciplines such as computing, mathematics, and artificial intelligence. Participants come from across the Central Queensland region to Rockhampton, and many go on to succeed at state and national levels. Academic staff and robotics enthusiasts offer guidance, ensuring a safe and supportive environment for the students. The event not only inspires a love for science and technology but also fosters community engagement and introduces students to the exciting possibilities within these fields.
• Connecting STEM with Music- The 2023 STEM meets Symphony workshop at CQUniversity Gladstone brought together Year 4 and 5 students passionate about both music and STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). This hands-on event, now in its third year, was organized in collaboration with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra and CQUniversity's STEM Central, supported by Australia Pacific LNG and operated by ConocoPhillips. Participants explored how music and STEM intersect through activities such as crafting instruments and understanding the role of science and technology in music. Queensland Symphony Orchestra percussionists shared their expertise, inspiring the students to explore new creative possibilities. This unique initiative fosters creativity and curiosity, helping young students discover innovative connections between the arts and STEM.
• Young Engineers Lego Club- CQUniversity hosted workshops in seven regional Queensland towns to school students from Years 1 to 8.
• Young Engineers Summer Holiday Workshops- CQUniversity hosted workshops over school holidays to launch kids into STEM

Arts

• Choices Program – A theatre project that promotes key safety messages and education around alcohol, drugs and sexual activity for young people, by young people, using a music theatre format of comic skits, songs and dance. The Choices project tours secondary schools throughout central and north Queensland every year in preparation for Schoolies.
• Safety Circus – Operating since 2013, the Safety Circus project is an award-winning project of the CQCM in partnership with the Mackay Crime Prevention Unit of the Queensland Police Service and the Daniel Morecombe Foundation. It is a 50-minute music theatre show aimed at Year 2 students to teach them about personal safety, safety on non-motorised transport and dealing with bullying. Written by Hannah Barn with music by Professor Judith Brown AM, The Safety Circus is performed by students from the Bachelor of Theatre degree and directed by CQCM theatre alumni. It tours to primary schools throughout the Mackay, Isaac and Whitsunday regions of Queensland each year.
• CQ Conservatorium of Music Summer Performance – The CQCM's Summer Spectacular is a week-long intensive theatre program designed for high school students aged 12 to 18. Participants have the chance to enhance their musical theatre skills under the guidance of a professional music theatre director and award-winning staff from the Central Queensland Conservatorium of Music (CQCM). The program culminates in a public performance, the Summer Spectacular concert, where students showcase their talents. Admission to the concert is free for the public.
• CQ Schools Jazz Festival- The festival is a unique event in Central Queensland that provides students with performance and development opportunities in jazz. Since 2012, participants have benefited from masterclasses, clinics, and adjudicated performances led by world-class musicians and educators. These sessions help young musicians grow their skills in an encouraging and educational environment. Past clinicians have included renowned artists such as James Morrison, Jeff Jarvis, and Greg Spence. The festival celebrates the region's talented students and is a valuable opportunity for jazz education in regional Queensland.
• 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.
• Connecting STEM with Music- over 70 primary school students experienced the connection between STEM and music at the STEM meeting Symphony workshop

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 catastrophic 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. Read more about these experiences from 2024: 

• Nursing students travelled to Fiji and provided healthcare in a remote community
• Engineering students undertook CQU's 2024 Humanitarian Engineering Program in India
• Nursing and physiotherapy students travelled to Vietnam for clinical placement experience
• 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.
• 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.

Work Integrated Learning (WIL) activities are structured and purposefully designed learning and assessment tools that allow you to integrate theory into a workplace, community, or project setting. Below are some examples of WIL opportunities available to students depending on chosen course. Visit the WIL page for more detail. 

• Interchange is a virtual employability program that will introduce you to the world of entrepreneurship and innovation, whilst at the same time providing you with critical work experience for your resume and future job applications.
• Univative is a unique inter-university, interdisciplinary, inter-cultural student employability program where student teams devise innovative solutions for genuine problems posed by industries and communities.
• Hands on Health Australia - A partnership with Hands on Health Australia (HoHA) and Mackay's student Chiropractic Clinic provided opportunities for clinical chiropractic students to gain experience by providing support and treatment to the elderly and homeless in Mackay.
• 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.
• Women in Agri-tech Project - This CQUniversity lead initiative creates and fosters a strong network of female teachers who will become leaders in digital literacy, STEM and entrepreneurship in regional, rural and remote areas. They will be guided by female researchers, professionals and entrepreneurs to develop engaging learning resources which will, in turn, inspire girls in the classroom to realise the opportunities available to them.
• Beach Day Out - CQUni physiotherapy students took part in the annual Beach Day Out by assisting disabled children and pediatrics.