Deakin and AIME partnership to support region's indigenous students

AIME Mentoring will recruit volunteer Deakin students to mentor Indigenous students at schools across the region.

Local program coordinator, Bobby Cunningham, says the new program will provide a bridge between high school and university.

“We recruit mentors from the university who go out to schools to mentor Indigenous students.”

Mr Cunningham said.

“The program also includes seven days at Deakin Warrnambool where high school students will get a taste of uni life, hopefully encouraging more Indigenous students from our region to go to university.”

Mr Cunningham is a former Seahawks basketballer and coach and more recently has worked as a Koori justice worker at Gunditjmara Aboriginal Cooperative.

“I’ve been helping kids for 20 years and I’ve always had a passion for working with youth. This is an excellent program to show kids what success could look like for them,” Mr Cunningham said.

A total of 15,000 Indigenous high schoolers and 5000 university students have already participated in the program elsewhere in Australia - largest volunteer movement of university students in Australian history.

The AIME program has proven results in supporting Indigenous school students pursue university study, with 75 per cent of participating high school students heading into employment or university, compared to 42 per cent of Indigenous school leavers nationally.

Deakin University Warrnambool Campus Director Alistair McCosh said the opportunity to partner with AIME was an exciting opportunity that would benefit students and the community.

"Deakin is committed to improving the tertiary education outcomes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and to building stronger relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and non-Aboriginal Australians,” Mr McCosh said.

“We’re excited by this partnership with AIME, which will support Deakin Warrnambool to achieve this goal and also make a positive difference in the lives our students, high school students in our region and the communities we serve.”