An engaging experience

Monash University is more than a vibrant learning and research institution for academics and students – it is an active player in the communities surrounding its campuses, writes JUNE YU

In the past, high-achieving secondary students in rural areas have been keen to head to the city to study, but a new community initiative at Monash’s Gippsland campus is encouraging these students to stay put.

Gippsland pro vice-chancellor Professor Brian Mackenzie says that besides offering a clean, green and convenient environment with excellent teaching, the rural campus is fast becoming an integral part of the region in southern Victoria.

He says one of the most recent successful community projects has been the Gippsland Internship Program, which offers incentives to high-achieving local students to study at the Gippsland campus.

These include a $500 per semester textbook allowance, guaranteed part-time and vacation employment while students undertake their studies, and a minimum of 12 months’ full-time employment after completion of the degree.

“Incentives such as these mean that local students can choose to remain within their existing network of family and friends,” Professor Mackenzie says.

“They will also become highly skilled potential employees contributing to business and industry in the Gippsland region.”

The Gippsland campus is also working hard to develop programs that will “give back” something to the area, he says.

Students in kayak Already in existence is the Bachelor of Sport and Outdoor Recreation degree, which offers opportunities to those interested in working in Gippsland’s thriving outdoor activities industry. According to Professor Mackenzie, Gippsland offers “just about any sporting pursuit you can imagine” within an hour of the campus (some of which are pictured above).

Another course proving popular is the Bachelor of Nursing and Rural Health Practice, a specialised degree that prepares nurses to take on an independent role in dealing with health problems that arise in rural and isolated areas.

Also in development is the Master in Techno-Entrepreneurship, expected to attract interest from local Gippsland professionals who will gain skills that will contribute to the economic and business development of the region.

As well, Professor Mackenzie says, the campus is working with groups such as the Gippsland Trade and Labour Council to explore models of local development.

“Our close relationship with industry and business in Gippsland means we are ideally placed to contribute our highly localised knowledge to projects that benefit the region as a whole,” he says.

“This type of knowledge pool is essential if we want to create an environment in which rapid scientific and industrial development can take place. It was this kind of culture that fostered the highly focused applied research that made Silicon Valley what it is today.”

The campus also actively engages secondary school students through Explore Monash days and an extensive program of school visits and is an active participant in three education networks in the region.

Monash’s Peninsula campus is truly a part of the Mornington Peninsula and Frankston community. Its researchers and staff are involved in a wide range of cooperative arrangements with local government, business, sporting groups and other community organisations.

Peninsula campus director Mr John White says much of the research undertaken at the campus has impacted directly upon the people of the Mornington Peninsula.

“Youth have received a considerable boost due to cooperative research with the Frankston City Council into young people’s perceptions of their local community,” he says.

Frankston City Council’s community safety management team received a range of recommendations from the research, which included measures to improve safety in the area and developing a ‘youth map’ of the region highlighting landmarks and places of interest to young people.

He says the Mornington Peninsula Division of General Practice and Peninsula Health is also using software and security features developed by the Peninsula campus School of Network Computing for the electronic exchange of patient information.

Researcher Dr Mary Cole has undertaken substantial work on cool climate wines that is directly relevant to the region’s flourishing wine industry. As coordinator of the wine technology and marketing courses offered at the campus, she is also training people to fill the gap in promoting the wines produced by the local vineyards.

The Peninsula campus is also involved in organising and running activities such as Relay for Life (pictured above left) to raise funds for the Anti-Cancer Council of Victoria, and a school holiday program for Year 10 students.

It also provides input into community committees such as the Mornington Peninsula Round Table, a networking forum consisting of local politicians, council members, police, school principals and other community stakeholders, and the Local Learning and Education Network, which offers help and advice about study and employment opportunities for adolescents.

“Monash’s reputation adds to the community as a whole and gives the region a sense of confidence and self-esteem,” Mr White says.

“When the local community becomes involved in a campus initiative, such as becoming a cooperative research partner, the community profile is also increased and its opportunities for development expanded.”

Monash Malaysia encourages a community mindset in its students (pictured above, far right), who help run community activities. These include raising funds and developing websites for non-profit organisations such as the National Council of the Blind in Malaysia, and Malaysian Care, a day care centre that offers support and counselling to the families of the mentally ill.

The Malaysia campus also launched the Monash Club earlier this year with the aim of helping secondary students bridge the gap between school and university.

The club will run activities intended to foster ‘buddy’ relationships between current and prospective Monash students, which includes inviting club members to join current students on field trips so they can experience university life first hand.

Monash Malaysia pro vice-chancellor Professor Bob Bignall says this type of community involvement is an extension of students’ learning experiences at Monash.

“Student engagement in community activities helps instil a sense of social responsibility in our students. A key feature of such activities is that they are undertaken by groups of students and university staff working together,” Professor Bignall says.

“The experience helps students develop leadership and teamwork skills that can benefit the community now through their current activities and further down the track when they join the workforce in Malaysia.”

ACTION: For more information about Monash’s activities, visit www.monash.edu.au

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