More than 60 Year 10 students from Bundaberg State High School visited Bundaberg Campus to participate in a CQUniversity Experience program recently (Oct 6-8)...

Students get the chance to sample science

This Outreach program provided students with a taste of university life and an awareness of the various programs universities can offer.

Over the three days, students participated in a range of ‘hands-on' learning experiences across several disciplines including Nursing, Science, Aviation, Education, IT, Psychology, Health Promotion, Accounting, Management and Human Resources. In addition to these faculty sessions, students participated in an academic writing and careers session.

The academic writing session informed students of the standard of writing used at university and also provided information and skills to enhance their writing while at high school. Jo Kennedy (Careers and Employment Officer) provided students with relevant information and resources during her careers session to assist students with their career planning process.

Students had the chance to get 'hands-on' in the Nursing session

Parents and guardians were invited to attend a ‘families information session' on the final day. During this session, parents/guardians were encouraged to ask questions and were provided with information relating to their important role in their child's learning journey.

Bundaberg State High School has been involved in CQUniversity's Outreach programs since 2007.

The supervising teachers from Bundaberg SHS were impressed with the program, with one stating "all of the presenters were very enthusiastic and obviously passionate about their teaching/learning area. This helped greatly with student engagement."

Students participating in the Aviation session of their Uni Experience in Bundaberg

On arrival, students were asked to write about their current perceptions of university and responses included:

"I see uni as a scary new experience. Being the first in my family to move towards that point is great."

"Currently, I think that uni is not really that scary, yet I can't help thinking that you have to be really smart."

"My perception of university is that it's an overwhelming place that makes me feel out of place, and I'm not sure what I want to do later on in life."

"University seems kind of scary, it's a big thing, however I am confident in myself to do well."

At the conclusion of the program, students were asked whether their perception of university had changed after participating in the CQUniversity Experience program. A few student comments were:

"I thought uni would be a lot like school, but it isn't as much as I thought."

"I thought it was going to be full on and too serious, but I was mistaken... I like it here."

"Uni is a much more friendly place than I originally thought."

"I thought it would be all kids just out of high school walking around, but it wasn't."

"I wasn't sure about uni but now I would really like to attend."