CQUniversity students Rachel Dunphy and Shantel Nasir are looking forward to a two-week study tour to Canada, in late September and early October...

The undergraduates have been selected for the Queensland Indigenous Student Ambassadors (QISA) program, arranged in association with CQUniversity's International Office* and its Nulloo Yumbah Indigenous Learning, Spirituality & Research Centre.
Rachel Dunphy (left) and Shantel Nasir are heading to British Columbia thanks to an ambassador scholarship program

The Queensland Government, through Queensland Education and Training International (QETI) is partnering with five Queensland universities to undertake a pilot program supporting 10 Indigenous students to undertake the study tour to British Columbia.

Rachel says she is keen to visit British Columbia in particular "to learn more about some of the programs that they have for their Indigenous peoples, and to see how they compare to our own".

"I'm also keen to see how their culture differs to ours and what kinds of employment they have. It's a fantastic opportunity and I'm very grateful for the experience...it will be a real eye-opening journey for not only personal growth but also to be able to see how I can better myself for my community, and how my community can be better in relation to our own Indigenous people."

The second-year Occupational Health & Safety student, who has a co-plan in Human Resources Management, considers herself lucky to have an Indigenous cadetship with Rio Tinto.

"This cadetship has really helped my studies and has given me amazing opportunities," Rachel says.

Meantime, Cairns-based mother Shantel Nasir is studying a Bachelor of Accounting degree part-time while looking after a young family and doing casual work within government programs for the community.

"CQUniversity has allowed me to work towards my dreams of working in business development and accounting," Shantel says.

"One of the reasons I applied for this opportunity was because I'm interested to see the contrasts and comparisons between our countries.

"This is to ascertain what is working in terms of education, health, heritage, arts, economics, resource management and caring for country, with the prospect of similar programs working here in Australia."

Shantel says she is aware of the "general similarity with the past plight of our people and the First Nations people of Canada ... but I would love to be able to find out a lot more and share my findings with my friends, family, CQUniversity and the community".

"It will be an inspirational, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn about another part of the world and the people that live there."

* CQUniversity's International Office has worked with the Queensland Government regarding this scholarship since early 2010 and has been very involved in the initiative from the first meetings with the British Colombia Council for International Education. In April 2010, Queensland Education and Training International (QETI) in collaboration with its counterpart the British Columbia Council for International Education (BCCIE) convened the first British Columbia-Queensland Post-Secondary Roundtable at which CQUniversity was represented by Janelle Allen. Participants included Queensland universities and colleges and visiting British Columbian institutions in Australian for the annual Australia Pacific Association for  International Education (APAIE) conference in 2010. QISA provides the opportunity for 10 Indigenous students from Queensland universities to undertake a guided study tour of universities in British Columbia, Canada. Each of the participating Queensland universities received funding from QETI to facilitate sending their Indigenous students to BC and all universities committed to match that funding (at CQUniversity, it was the International Office that has provided planning, financial, and administrative support for the program) .  The Queensland Government has also provided additional funds for an academic team leader to accompany the group.