Indigenous students to be based in Warrnambool

Indigenous students from across Australia will be based at the Deakin University Warrnambool Campus this year for week-long intensive study programs.

Nine Master of Public Health students from Deakin’s Institute of Koorie Education (IKE) are in Warrnambool this week and more than 30 students from IKE’s postgraduate programs will be based at the campus in upcoming months.

The monthly visits are a significant boost to the campus and local community.

Associate Head of Teaching and Learning at IKE, Wendy Anders, and Senior Lecturer for the Master of Public Health program, Janice Jessen, said that IKE had decided to run postgraduate programs from Warrnambool to create a presence for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and to support the campus.

“It’s a beautiful campus and a nice relaxed environment for postgraduate students to engage in class and do their own research,” Ms Anders said.

The students are living on campus and will take part in local community events and meet with Aboriginal organisations.

“The students are all in the same residential block, which helps them to build their relationships,” Ms Jessen said. “An important part of the community-based delivery model is the learning and support that happens outside the classroom with their networks and knowledge sharing.”

In addition to a full week of study, the students are learning about the local community with visits to Tower Hill, the Great Ocean Road and local Aboriginal organisations to supplement their education program.

“Our students are Aboriginal health workers and will gain additional skills by meeting with local organisations for two-way learning,” Ms Anders said. “They are gaining these qualifications to empower and improve health outcomes in their communities.”

There are younger and mature-aged students from all around the country.

“The students are really positive about being in Warrnambool,” Ms Anders said. “They’re enjoying it immensely.”

Warrnambool Campus Director, Alistair McCosh, said the opportunity to deliver postgraduate IKE courses in Warrnambool was a big plus.

“It’s another new offer for our campus and a strong indication from the University leadership that Warrnambool will play a part in delivering new course offerings, including in the postgraduate course area,” Mr McCosh said.

Mr McCosh described Warrnambool Campus as a great location for the delivery of Deakin's Indigenous courses. “Many of the students enrolled are from regional communities that are similar or smaller in size than Warrnambool, so it is not as daunting when they come to our small and relaxed campus,” he said.

“We are committed to showing them our region, including visits to Tower Hill and a trip out to the 12 Apostles. Our aim is to have the students travel back to their communities across Australia and talk about how great it was to study at Deakin's Warrnambool Campus.”