Regional Partnerships Project Pool Program
Funded by the Australian Government Department of Education
PROJECT Y13 – Creating Aspiration, Connection and Pathways.
The GUC is partnering with Pilbara Universities Centre (lead proponent), CQUniversity, Curtin University, Notre Dame University, and Charles Darwin University to co-design Project Y13.
The GUC is undertaking stakeholder consultation in the Gascoyne and Mid West.
Project Y13 (Phase 1) Concept
Project Y13 – Creating Aspiration, Connection and Pathways brings together four universities and two Regional University Centres to implement targeted engagement with stakeholders and community groups to co-design a customised, locally delivered, outreach project to provide education aspiration, connection and pathways to students based in remote regions of WA and the NT. Project Y13 spans a geographical footprint from the Mid West of WA, up through the Gascoyne, Pilbara and Kimberley regions and into the remote Katherine, Central Australia and Arnhem regions.
Project Y13 targets students who are completing (or have completed) high school without an ATAR and with uncertain ambitions about their future. It will focus on bridging the gap between leaving school and continuing onto further education and employment. After school there is no obvious education support sources that a student does not have to self-seek and this leads to vulnerable young adults falling through the gap between school and either employment or higher education. Project Y13 will be designed to target students before they leave school but will also provide an entry point to enable mature aged students to reconnect with education. By removing barriers to aspirations and increasing preparedness for higher education, ProjectY13 will build job ready graduates in regional and remote communities.
Project Y13 will foster a unique ecosystem of specialised place-based support functions. Designed to boost higher education aspirations, confidence, and opportunity for regional and remote Western Australia and the Northern Territory and leveraging proven partnerships between universities, regional universities centres, local schools and community organisations.
Phase 1 of Project Y13 has two key components to ensure co-design of a tailored outreach approach to meets the needs of the targeted regional areas of the Pilbara, Mid West, Gascoyne, Kimberley, Katherine, Central Australia, and Arnhem Land regions
- Identifying needs of regional students and communities to enable aspirations for higher education: Consultation with stakeholders in Geraldton, Carnarvon, Karratha, Port Hedland, Newman, Tom Price, Exmouth, Broome, Katherine, Alice Springs and East Arnhem and surrounds to determine needs and barriers to accessing higher education and vocational education training. Stakeholders will include public and/ or private secondary schools, indigenous school and community programs, community groups, Aboriginal corporations, industry and existing regional university students to understand how they overcame barriers.
- Co-design of Project Y13: the results of the stakeholder consultations will inform the best approach to meeting identified needs and the range of resources required to design Project Y13. Best practice already in this space will be considered as well as how to tailor resources or create new ones to allow for a case managed yet still integrated program.
If you would like to be involved in this program, please contact Natasha Colliver – natashac@guc.edu.au