The University of Notre Dame Australia is hosting 32 Indigenous high school students from across Western Australia at its Broome campus as part of a program designed to inspire Australia’s future leaders.
This year’s National Indigenous Business Summer School (NIBSSWA) is being hosted by Notre Dame and is being held in a regional area for the first time.
The group of Aboriginal students have come together at the Broome campus and will spend six days learning from Indigenous leaders, entrepreneurs and local business owners.
The Year 10 and 11 students will also hear from 2020 NSW Young Australian of the Year, Corey Tutt OAM, who is travelling to Broome to deliver the keynote at the event.
Professor Tutt, a Kamilaroi man from the New South Wales south coast, is an author, social entrepreneur and the founder of DeadlyScience - a not-for-profit that provides science books and equipment to remote schools in Australia.
Professor Tutt said the summer school program was a fantastic opportunity for young Indigenous students.
“I'm looking forward to yarning with these Indigenous leaders of the future about my experiences in creating and growing DeadlyScience into Australia's leading STEM charity focusing on Indigenous students,” he said.
“When I was growing up I'd have loved to have had the opportunity to attend an event like this.”
Notre Dame’s National Head of the School of Business and Law, Professor Michael Quinlan, said the immersive NIBSSWA experience had the potential to change the lives of the students who took part.
“We are thrilled to be able to host the event at our Broome campus and to give these students a unique insight into university life and a future career in business,” he said.
“The students will hear first-hand from local Aboriginal entrepreneurs about the opportunities that working in business may bring. They will be able to create business ideas of their own, giving them the potential to build a legacy for themselves and their families.
“By bringing these students together in Broome we hope to foster a sense of belonging and connectedness, and to nurture their interest in studying business at a university level. But I am sure that it won’t only be the participating students who benefit from the time together - there will be much that everyone participating in the event will gain, particularly all of us involved from Notre Dame.”
The NIBSSWA program is an initiative of the Australian Business Deans Council and a collaboration between business schools at Western Australian universities.
It is guided by the principle of Katitjiny Boya Birrit, meaning ‘pathway to understanding business’ in Noongar.
Media Contact: media@nd.edu.au