Goal 10: Reduced Inequality

Indigenous Mentoring Experience (AIME) was established at UOW in 2008 to help redress the imbalance in high school completion rates between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students, by improving Year 10 and Year 12 completion rates and university admission rates for all participating students. Each year, the AIME program pairs student mentors with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander high school students.

Woolyungah Indigenous Centre (WIC) is committed to increasing the participation and engagement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people at UOW. The centre provides programs, services and facilities that encourage and support Indigenous Australians from entry to University, through to successful completion. With a focus on fostering a community environment, students have the freedom to embrace their Indigenous culture and the opportunity to achieve academic excellence. WIC guides students through university life and supports professional development with rewarding and empowering opportunities. 

The Indigenous Admission Program (IAP) is an assessment process that offers an alternative pathway for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people over the age of 17, to seek entry into UOW’s undergraduate programs. The program supports Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who haven’t completed secondary school, are not receiving an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR), don’t have the required ATAR for their preferred course, and mature aged students.

UOW is committed to providing a workplace where Indigenous people’s culture, beliefs and knowledge are embraced and embedded, with opportunities for career development and promotion. UOW’s Indigenous Employment Strategy has initiatives in place to increase Indigenous employment and is committed to providing pathways for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff to optimise career aspirations.

Equity Fellowships assist staff facing difficulties in completing their PhD program because of equity issues. They are targeted toward academic women and Indigenous Australians, however, a number of fellowships will also be available each year for other equity groups. The establishment of these fellowships is one of the strategies to address the current under representation of these two equity groups, particularly at senior levels.

Ngarruwan Ngadju is an Indigenous-led health and wellbeing research centre located within the Australian Health Services Research Institute at UOW. Their work centres the needs and priorities of First Peoples by undertaking research that is high impact, innovative, strengths-based and beneficial to Community. Ngarruwan Ngadju from both the Dharrawal and Dhurga languages means ‘the sea across long distances’ (Ngarruwan) and ‘freshwater’ (Ngadju). The words bring together the importance of water for sustaining life. They signify the cultural connectedness between Indigenous communities along the coastal regions of Australia, freshwater communities of inland Australia and across the Pacific. The research centre’s vision is to provide Indigenous-led health and wellbeing research, sustained by strong and enduring community partnerships.

The Great South Coast Economic Migration Project is a secondary settlement project that supports the voluntary relocation of migrants from the Great Lakes region of Africa who currently live in Australian cities, to the Southern Grampians and Glenelg Shires in regional Victoria. It is framed by an understanding that some migrants have a desire to live in rural areas, but benefit from various support mechanisms when making that transition. This research project is documenting key learnings from the perspective of the implementing organisations, relocated families and destination communities. Together with the project partners, the aim is to develop an evidence-base to inform academic scholarship and government policy pertaining to rural and regional settlement.