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30 Minutes a Month is a micro-volunteering program – where small acts on your part make a big difference to our students. You give 30 minutes out of your month to complete activities that benefit you, current students, and your fellow graduates. These activities further your professional development, help students get the most out of their education and help the University demonstrate the impact our alumni are making in our communities.
The program is an annual, 9-month program that runs from March to November.
Each month, participants are sent a priority activity, which will take around 30 minutes to complete. As an alternative, you can also complete one of the standing activities. When you complete 3 months, 6 months and 9 months, you receive a reward. Simple!
Read below on the range of activities that are part of this year's program. You can also find the most frequently asked questions our participants have raised.
From a Certificate I to a PhD, if you have graduated with a CQUniversity qualification, you are eligible to join this program when it opens each year.
Being an alumnus of CQU means being part of an exclusive group of changemakers — and giving back to CQU by mentoring and supporting students.
Edmond D'Albret
Diploma of Human Resources Management, Certificate IV in Human Resources, Certificate IV in Work Health and Safety
The alumni community has been an invaluable resource, giving me professional insights and the confidence to pursue further study.
Evangeline Bridges
Certificate III in Individual Support
To me, being an alumnus of CQU means staying connected to a community that helped shape who I am today. It’s about giving back, sharing experiences and supporting the next generation of students and leaders.
Tanya O'Shea
Bachelor of Psychology, Master of Business Administration
Sign up between January and March.
Complete your activity for the month.
Submit your activity so we can send you your rewards.
| Months completed | Reward |
|---|---|
| 3 Months | CQU Reversible Bucket Hat |
| 6 Months | Luke Mallie Design PET Reusable Fold-Up Shopping Bag |
| 9 Months | "Controlling People: The Paradoxical Nature of Being Human" Book, written by CQU Director, Centre for Health Equity in Regional and remote Communities, Timothy Carey. |
Additionally, participants completing at least 6 months of activities will receive a ‘CQU volunteer’ digital badge. These will be issued at the end of the program, in the beginning of December 2025.
*Rewards are subject to change based on availability.
Get those warm, fuzzy, feel-good feelings knowing your participation is helping students prepare for graduation and fellow graduates pursue their careers.
This program is designed to get you to complete activities that expand your professional experience and online presence.
You can build a portfolio of demonstrable experience by adding the tasks you complete to your resume.
If you’re publishing posts online, you’ll also be demonstrating your knowledge and communication skills to your network. When (not if) potential employers do background searches online, they’ll be presented with evidence of your thought leadership through the posts you’ve made – impressive.
When you were studying, did you ever have a moment where you weren’t sure where your study was taking you; or how to approach the leap between study and your first job? Many of the tasks in this program are designed to help students in these times – and the people best positioned to give advice are those who have experienced it.
This program is designed to involve alumni in simple activities that make a big difference - both to your professional development, but also to current students and the University.
We want to reward you for getting involved because your contribution through these carefully selected activities really helps students get the most of their education, and helps the University demonstrate the impact alumni are making in our communities.
Below are this year's activities for the 30 Minutes a Month program. We offer one priority activity each month, as well as some high-impact standing activities. You can choose whether to complete the monthly priority activity or one of the standing activities.
Once you have completed your activity, you must submit it via our online form or via email. Your month cannot be marked as complete unless a submission notification is received. Please make sure you have signed up as a participant before submitting your first activity.
You'll receive more details on each activity in the monthly activity announcement email, which is sent to all participants.
| Month | Activity |
|---|---|
| March | Messages of Support to Students Starting their CQU journey It’s the beginning of Term 1 with new students nervously trying to navigate university life, class schedules, enrolments, jobs and friendships. Show your support by providing words of wisdom and guidance in the comments section of these CQUniversity Australia posts on either Facebook or LinkedIn. Don’t use any of these platforms? Send through your message by email and we will post it for you. Or you can choose from one of the standing activities. Don't forget to complete the submission form to let us know you’ve completed this month's activity. |
| April | Sign up as a mentor (and/or mentee) in the CQU Industry Connect Networking & Mentoring program. If you are already signed up, check your current profile and update it if necessary. Complete the submission form to let us know your profile is ready to go in Industry Connect! |
| May | Complete an alumni profile to show current and future students where their qualifications could take them in their careers. Profiles must be 150-250 words and include an image of you. If you’ve already completed an alumni profile, review it and email us any updates. Complete the submission form to let us know you’ve supplied or updated your profile in the past three months. |
| June | Donate to and/or share this year’s CQUniCares Annual Appeal, sign up as an Ambassador or simply share the CQUniCares Annual Appeal on your socials with your networks. Complete the submission form to let us know you’ve completed this month's activity. |
| July | Welcome to the launch of Neutopia! Create a profile in our new digital alumni community and join the group designed specifically for 30 Minutes a Month participants. If you’re already a member, make sure to say hi to fellow graduates in the 30 Minutes a Month Participants group! Get regular updates about the program, activities, and how your content will be distributed to students! Be involved and witness firsthand how your half an hour contributions each month are making a big difference to students and the University. Additionally, the group is the ideal space to meet other 30 Minutes a Month participants, and network with alumni who are also keen to support students. Please note that you will need to complete your registration and log into Neutopia before you can access the 30 Minutes a Month Participants group. Don't forget to complete the submission form to let us know you’ve completed this month's activity. |
| August | Share your best tips and answer the most recent mentoring ‘tips and tricks’ question in our new digital alumni community. All the responses will be collated into blog posts that will be shared with students in the new MyCQU platform. Your tips will also be shared with your fellow alumni on social media and in our new digital alumni community. You never know – your 80-word answer might help someone connect with a mentor who will help change their career! Once you're done, complete the submission form to let us know you’ve completed this month's activity. |
| September | Share your experience with transitioning from a CQU student to a member of the CQU Alumni Community. To help you with this, we've listed some sentence starters below. Remember, you don’t have to use all the sentence starters – just complete the ones that are most relevant to you.
Complete the submission form or email us your response. We’ll convert your responses into a blog post, which will be shared with students in the new hyper-personalised MyCQU platform. Your responses will also be shared with your fellow alumni in the 30 Minutes a Month group in our new digital alumni community. |
| October | Share a favourite photo or memory from your time at CQUniversity! Whether it was an event, friends, a favourite lecturer or your graduation, share your favourite CQU experience on CQU Alumni social pages on LinkedIn, Facebook or in the 30 Minutes a Month Participation group on Neutopia. Don’t use social media? Complete the submission form or email us your photo or memory and we will add it for you. |
| November | Complete this year’s program closing survey. |
An activity is set for each month (see "Monthly activities' above). If you don't want to complete a priority activity, you can choose to complete one of the activities below.
Once you have completed your activity, remember to submit it via our online form. All standing activities should take no longer than 30 minutes.
Send us an email to register your interest: alumni-enquiries@cqu.edu.au
No. You can choose to complete the monthly priority activity or one of our standing activities. You can view the monthly priority and standing activities above.
No. You can only submit 30 minutes of activity each month.
The 30 Minutes a Month program rewards alumni for continuous participation. But we understand that life happens, and you may not be able to complete your 30 minutes of activity each month. If you miss a month you can keep participating in the program.
Rewards are sent when you complete three, six and nine months of the program.
Yes! You can register and start participating at any time – but you will only be able to complete the months remaining.
If you have any questions or would like more information on the program contact the Alumni Relations Team on alumni-enquiries@cqu.edu.au or +61 7 4923 2875.
CQUniversity acknowledges Traditional Owners and Custodians and pays respect to the Elders of all First Nations peoples of Australia.CQUniversity Australia is a trading name of Central Queensland University
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