Charles Sturt University (CSU) and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) are launching a collaborative project to introduce Indigenous students from rural and regional NSW to university education and careers associated with the ABC.

 

The ‘ABC Career Links Camp’ at CSU in Bathurst is part of the university’s Future Moves program, and is the first activity to be delivered under the newly-signed Memorandum of Understanding between CSU and the ABC.

 

Ms Kay Nankervis, journalism lecturer at the CSU School of Communications and Creative Industries in Bathurst, said, “It is exciting to see Australia’s largest cultural organisation, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, working with the University to encourage Indigenous students to finish high school and see university study as a pathway to a rewarding career. The ABC is an excellent example of an Australian organisation determined to ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are strongly represented in their present and future workforces. I am delighted to be part of this camp and look forward to sharing the challenges and rewards of higher education with the participants.”

 

Twenty students from Future Moves program partner schools in the NSW Central West, Central Tablelands, and Port Macquarie, will participate in the three-day ‘ABC Career Links Camp’ to experience what it takes to create audiovisual stories.

 

“Students will work with Faculty of Arts staff and story-making professionals using facilities of the School of Communications and Creative Industries to produce stories to be delivered either by live performance, audiovisual presentations, or storyboards,” Ms Nankervis said.

 

“During the camp students will link-up with an ABC social media expert to set up a Tweet circle and other ways to share their experience with each other using social media technology. The camp will culminate in a final presentation by participants explaining what they have learned and how their story relates to aspiration to attend university.”

 

The Future Moves program provides opportunities for students to experience what university learning, and university life, are like, and to get a taste of the opportunities available, while linking real career opportunities to learning. The project will be further developed next year to include ABC industry professionals who will visit the campus and work closely with the students.

 

The ‘ABC Career Links Camp’ is at CSU in Bathurst from 10am Monday 18 to 3pm Wednesday 20 November.