Community & schools - University of Wollongong

This page contains information for the Bega Valley local community and schools. Whether you're a student, educator, or community member, you'll find valuable information and resources specifically for your information.

UOW Regional campuses community engagement

For more than 23 years, in addition to educating over 3,600 local UOW graduates, the University of Wollongong Regional campuses have actively engaged with our local communities to drive positive change and enhance the lives of community members. At UOW, we are dedicated to making a meaningful impact on the health, education, and well-being of our diverse communities. Explore our recent initiatives to see the difference we're making.

UOW REGIONALS

Video plays music only.

Working with the Bega Valley community

Djiringanj Connections

On Djiringanj Country, UOW Bega Valley has a proud connection with our local Community. Discover some of our collaborations, including the My Dreaming Track of Knowledge with Community and Elders. This page also shares the story of Bega and you can learn some key words from our local Djiringanj language. Bunja - bundjala & dhuri.

Bega Valley Innovation Hub

Bega Valley Innovation Hub is part of the UOW's iAccelerate Innovation Network. This unique business acceleration program offers a comprehensive and multi-faceted approach to empower startups, scale-ups and entrepreneurs. Take a look at the programs being offered in the Bega Valley in 2024.

Bega Circular Valley

The National Circularity Centre (NCC), a multi-purpose tourism, community, and research hub, is set to be constructed in Bega. UOW is proud to be a driving partner in its establishment and will contribute research expertise in energy, materials innovation, and sustainable building practices.

UOW MEDIA CENTRE - BEGA VALLEY ARTICLES

Year 6 Discovery Days at UOW Bega Valley

In October 2024, UOW Bega Valley hosted just under 400 Year 6 students from 17 primary schools at their annual Year 6 Discovery Days.

In partnership with the University of Canberra ‘Aspire UC’, the program offered students the opportunity to engage in several university taster sessions that ranged from Engineering to Geology and Nursing to Law. One teacher described the sessions as “diverse and interesting.”

Local First Nations organisation Jirribitti Dreaming, led by cultural educator and Bidjigal woman Emma Stewart, delivered an enriching cultural experience for the students. The students used local Aboriginal symbols and Ochre to express what the Country means to them.

The program's focus allows regional and remote students to experience a small taste of tertiary learning, provide meaningful conversations about their future and get them excited for high school and beyond. Some schools travelled a 4-hour round trip to attend as the Bega Valley campus is their closest higher education provider. Four of the schools that attended have a year 6 cohort as small 3 students, prompting the feedback from teachers as “…so valuable for our small school kids. A fantastic opportunity.”

For the first time, UOW Bega Valley collaborated with School Based Apprenticeship and Traineeship (SBAT) students from Bega High School. These students shared their experience of being out in the workforce while still at school and were described by one year 6 teacher as “great role models.”

UOW programs for local schools, parents and carers.

The UOW Outreach and Future Students team work with primary and high school students, parents and carers, and career advisers and teachers, with the aim of enabling aspirations and awareness towards higher education, and providing students with the knowledge and skills to get there.

High school students

Primary school students

Career advisers and teachers

Parents and carers

My Future Matters outreach program

UOW's Woolyungah Indigenous Centre delivers the My Future Matters program to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in years 7 to 12. The program aims to shape students' awareness and aspirations of higher education and post-school options.

Learn more about the program Indigenous Regional Summer Camp

Acknowledgement of Country

We acknowledge that Country for Aboriginal peoples is an interconnected set of ancient and sophisticated relationships. The University of Wollongong spreads across many interrelated Aboriginal Countries that are bound by this sacred landscape, and intimate relationship with that landscape since creation. From Sydney to the Southern Highlands, to the South Coast. From fresh water to bitter water to salt. From City to Urban to Rural. The University of Wollongong Acknowledges the Custodianship of the Aboriginal peoples of this place and space that has kept alive the relationships between all living things. The University Acknowledges the devastating impact of colonisation on our campuses' footprint and commit ourselves to truth-telling, healing and education.