Indigenous Perspectives

Trinity’s engagement with Indigenous Australia has two principal perspectives:

• From the perspective of Indigenous Australians, we aim to increase the opportunities for able students to have equality of access to the best possible higher education in this country.
• From the perspective of all Australians, as well as those from other countries who are members of the Trinity community, we aim to increase knowledge about the issues and features of Indigenous Australia.

Increasing access to the best possible higher education

From 2009 onwards, an exciting new program will be available for Indigenous students at the University of Melbourne, thanks to a partnership between Trinity College, the Faculty of Arts, and the Centre for Indigenous Education.

• The BA Extended is a Bachelor of Arts degree course that runs over four years instead of the usual three. Students for this new course will be recruited  from around Australia. They will need to have shown the potential to do well at university, although they may have been prevented from doing so previously due to adverse circumstances.
  
  Trinity will provide teaching expertise for many of the early subjects in the BA Extended course, drawing on its 18 years’ experience in preparing international students for entry to the University of Melbourne through Trinity College Foundation Studies. Trinity teachers are thus ideally placed to teach the academic skills that will help Indigenous students ease into university life.
  
  Importantly, the students will live in residence at Trinity College – and other colleges of the University – and Trinity will play a key part in providing academic, social and pastoral care networks to help ensure the students are properly supported throughout their time at university.
  
  For more information about the new BA Extended program please contact:
  David Collis or Rosemary Blight
  Indigenous Programs Officers at Trinity College
  Email: indigenous@trinity.unimelb.edu.au
  Tel: +61 3 9348 7101

Since 2001, Trinity has also worked through three other main avenues to increase access to the best possible higher education for able Indigenous Australians.

These are:

• Residential scholarships for students taking degrees at the University of Melbourne
  
• Participation by Indigenous school students in the annual Young Leaders Summer School. Applications are invited (forms available via this link) from Indigenous Australians currently at secondary school who would like to participate in the July or December programs
  
• Other engagement of various kinds, including the work undertaken by Rosemary Blight, Drama teacher in Foundation Studies, at Nungalinya College in Darwin, or the program of visit between the Theological School and Wontulp-bi-Buya College in Cairns, as well as Nungalinya College.
  

Increasing knowledge about Indigenous Australia

• Its Indigenous Visiting Fellows program, which has seen Indigenous artists, writers, musicians, and leaders join the College for periods of time and share their knowledge
• Increasing its collection of Indigenous literature in the College Library and art in various locations throughout the College
• Instituting the program of visits to Minyerri by students and staff
• Providing opportunities for seminars, lectures, and conferences on Indigenous themes to be held at the College or brought to the attention of the College community.

Keep in touch with what else is going on in Trinity's Indigenous Perspectives by going to our News page, and have a look at a range of recent articles and blogs.

Or register to receive our Indigenous Programs E-news (sent once every two months).

• Download Indigenous Perspectives Brochure (Size: 728Kb, Type: PDF)