Community & schools

Year 6 Discovery Days at UOW Bega Valley

In October 2024, UOW Bega Valley hosted just under 400 Year 6 students from 17 primary schools at their annual Year 6 Discovery Days.

In partnership with the University of Canberra ‘Aspire UC’, the program offered students the opportunity to engage in several university taster sessions that ranged from Engineering to Geology and Nursing to Law. One teacher described the sessions as “diverse and interesting.”

Local First Nations organisation Jirribitti Dreaming, led by cultural educator and Bidjigal woman Emma Stewart, delivered an enriching cultural experience for the students. The students used local Aboriginal symbols and Ochre to express what the Country means to them.

The program's focus allows regional and remote students to experience a small taste of tertiary learning, provide meaningful conversations about their future and get them excited for high school and beyond. Some schools travelled a 4-hour round trip to attend as the Bega Valley campus is their closest higher education provider. Four of the schools that attended have a year 6 cohort as small 3 students, prompting the feedback from teachers as “…so valuable for our small school kids. A fantastic opportunity.”

For the first time, UOW Bega Valley collaborated with School Based Apprenticeship and Traineeship (SBAT) students from Bega High School. These students shared their experience of being out in the workforce while still at school and were described by one year 6 teacher as “great role models.”