In April over 90 Year 11 and 12 AIEF Scholarship Students attended AIEF Tertiary Experience Days in Sydney and Brisbane.
Students had the opportunity to visit university campuses, where they met with Indigenous Support and Recruitment units, visited residential colleges and student villages, and heard from AIEF Alumni about their experiences of the transition from high school to university. In Sydney students visited The University of Technology (UTS) and its Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning, Nura Gili at The University of New South Wales (UNSW), and The University of Sydney. The tour also included Yura Mudang at UTS; St Andrews College at the University of Sydney; and Shalom College at UNSW. In Brisbane students visited the Oodgeroo unit at The Queensland University of Technology (QUT), the Gumurrii unit at Griffith University and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies unit at The University of Queensland (UQ), as well as Kelvin Grove Student Village at QUT and Emmanuel College, The Womens College and Kings College at UQ.
Students found the events really worthwhile and said they were inspired by the stories of Indigenous tertiary students and enjoyed learning about the support, extra-curricular and social activities available to them. Students also said they were excited by the responsibility and independence of university life, with one student commenting I learnt so much and it made me want to look into going to university.
AIEF would like to thank the AIEF Alumni who came to share their stories and advice and show students around their universities, and also all the recruitment, college and support staff who did a fantastic job exciting the interest and ambition of the students.
Thank you to Josh Kelly for his photography services at the Brisbane event.
