Students game for Uni life, thanks to new Mobile Education Trailer
Published on 18 September, 2012
For once the trailer is better than a movie! Primary students who enter the new Mobile Education Trailer (MET) operated by CQUniversity will experience interactive games, including 'a day in the life of a uni student', and take a virtual campus tour to familiarise themselves with university life and terminology...
The MET was officially launched this week at Lakes Creek State School in Rockhampton.
These experiences will complement a video presentation featuring role models from regional communities describing their varied educational journeys.
The MET is designed so students can expand their awareness of university and career choices, to encourage participation in post-school education. The trailer will accommodate up to 30 seated students and their teachers.
CQUniversity's Program Manager - Widening Participation Stacey Wallace says her team are excited to introduce the MET, which will help inspire children in Years 6 and 7 at 107 primary schools throughout Central Queensland.
Lakes Creek Primary students get a taste of the MET's internal features
In 2012, the Widening Participation team is continuing to implement programs for low-socio economic status (low SES), regional and remote and Indigenous primary and high school students across the CQ region.
"The programs are aimed at raising aspirations towards higher education and equipping students and their families with the knowledge, resources and resilience to transition to any university, anywhere, anytime," Ms Wallace says.
The CQUniversity Widening Participation team is partnering with all of Queensland's public universities to offer programs across the State in a coordinated way.
This collaborative approach is designed to meet objectives set out by the Bradley Review endorsed by the Federal Government - that is to increase participation in higher education from under-represented student groups to 20% by 2020.
Lakes Creek State Primary School was chosen for the MET launch because students from the school provided feedback for CQUniversity Desktop Publishing students who helped develop communication tools used by the Widening Participation campaign.
Along with Stacey Wallace, participants in the launch included Mary McLeod (CQUni Manager Student Support Centre), Deborah Ilott (Acting Principal Advisor, Ed Qld), and Barbara Lawrence (CQUni Academic Registrar).
The MET exterior is certainly eye-catching 
MET launch participants (L-R foreground) Stacey Wallace, Barbara Lawrence, Deborah Ilott and Mary McLeod