Consultation and collaboration has been the name of the game in a $20,000 prize winning teaching initiative by the Community Service and Research Centre (CSRC) at UQ Ipswich.
CSRC’s package of a Graduate Certificate in Social Science —Interprofessional Leadership plus short courses and community learning events has won an inaugural UQ Award for the Enhancement of Student Learning (professional/community category). It will be presented at a Brisbane Customs House ceremony tonight at 6.30pm.
It is also one of two finalists in the Institutional Category of the Australian Awards for University Teaching to be announced in Canberra on Tuesday, December 3.
CSRC Director Bruce Muirhead said the two-semester Certificate program was collaboratively designed with community leaders to meet significant community needs.
“One of our first jobs after the Centre opened in 1999 was to help senior regional managers explore some troublesome social issues and collaborate in setting up solutions,” he said.
“The result was a trial Service Integration Project at Goodna, an Ipswich City suburb, to improve government service delivery and community well-being.
“Teaching and learning is part of the basic strategy. So the Certificate program was born and the complementary short courses and community learning events followed, along with plenty of learning opportunities for people who don’t have any tertiary qualifications.”
Funding includes about $500,000 in sponsorship from two State Government Departments (Families, Housing) and $200,000 course fees for government staff and members of the community. CSRC and Ipswich City Council provide additional cash and in-kind support.
“The program’s ongoing success is all about this type of support and seeing it embraced by the business community,” Mr Muirhead said.
UQ academics, practising professionals and community representatives teach the Certificate program, and scholarships ease access for people from disadvantaged communities. The first students were all senior staff from government organisations but subsequent groups have included people from government, non-government and community organisations.
Short courses build on Certificate studies or pave the way to Certificate enrolment. Community learning opportunities include breakfast presentations and community access to University lectures, lectures by visiting international academics and government briefings.
“Participation rates have soared over the past two years,” Mr Muirhead said, “and a recent student survey of community and government workers suggests vast changes in the way Goodna perceives itself. People are saying things like ‘a more inclusive process than before’ and ‘UQ improved input at Goodna/Gailes and workers are starting to feel the benefit’.
“Responses like that suggest our programs are having a critical impact on improving community well-being in a disadvantaged community.”
Media: for more information, contact Ashley Jones, Media and Communications Manager, CSRC telephone 0412 104 491.
