VC Column: CQU Changemakers in the spotlight

Vice-Chancellor's column republished from CQ Today:

At CQUniversity' across our schools' research centres and departments' our passionate teams are always doing life-changing work.

Sometimes' those big impacts are only seen by the smallest groups – the student getting the vital support they need' the social enterprise that grows with our procurement spending' or the community that thrives thanks to our unique research insights.

But sometimes' CQUniversity's changemaking is in the national spotlight – and that's why I'm so excited to tell you about our recent Changemaker campaign.

You might have seen the promotional initiative on your TV screens' or online (and if you have' no doubt you've felt moved by its life-changing message).

The Changemaker campaign celebrates CQUniversity's unique commitment to empowering students to transform their worlds' as an Ashoka U Changemaker University' and as Australia's first social enterprise university certified by Social Traders.

We have achieved these titles by embedding social innovation projects and practices across our curriculum' and our operations.

And as the campaign evocatively shows' these projects and practices change our students' lives' and lives across our communities.

For instance' the U-Beach Universal Beach Access project that CQUniversity leads in Bundaberg' ensuring people of all abilities and mobilities can access the beach for better health and well-being.

Or how CQUniversity supports students to discover solutions through Indigenous ways of knowing' being and doing' through our partnership with social enterprise TECKnology Indigenous Corporation' and through First Nations collaboration across our regions.

And especially' how our Australian-first Regional Medical Pathway ensures young' regional people can study medicine in their own communities.

The initiative means more doctors will be trained regionally' and will stay and practice regionally once they enter the profession.

Central Queensland' and regional Australia more broadly' also benefits from our huge range of research projects based in and focused on regional' rural and remote communities' and impacting for good.

Like in Rockhampton' where projects focused on diverting waste streams are creating viable solutions for energy creation' and also creating employment for disadvantaged people in our community.

All these projects are showcased in our Changemaker campaign.

And all of them highlight how social innovation works' as CQUniversity engages with our students' our stakeholders' and our communities to achieve sustainable social and environmental impact.

And that impact is at the heart of CQUniversity.

You can learn more about how CQUniversity is changing the world' and how you can too at cqu.edu.au/changemaker.

- Nick Klomp' CQUniversity Vice-Chancellor and President