UNE Moree

Integral to UNE Moree’s vision is the genuine need to build resilient industries and communities through extensive partnerships. UNE will involve industry, local government and the community in the design and delivery of educational offerings, in setting the region’s research agenda and in the collaborative governance.

This will be enabled through industry representation in Course Advisory Boards to ensure that UNE Moree is focused on preparing graduates for the jobs of the future and preparing industry to host graduate-ready jobs.
Opportunities for work-integrated and experiential learning will be embedded in all course offerings through internships, learning and research placements and industry-defined projects, in close collaboration with the needs of the SAP. To support employers to be ready to host student placements, UNE and the Moree Plains Shire Council will deliver targeted preparatory courses to industry from 2022.

In collaboration with the Moree Plains Shire Council, the UNE SMART Region Incubator (SRI) delivers programs for new and established businesses to help drive innovation.

UNE Moree will deliver education, research and innovation based on international best practice and through engagement models that create a positive student experience.

Key features include:

• Flexible, on-demand education supporting students to access learning at any time, from anywhere through virtual lecture rooms and course content in real time.
• Stackable learning enabling students to combine micro-credentials of their own choosing to articulate in unique qualifications. Students will have the option to start with a short course and move toward a bachelor’s degree should they desire. It will also provide opportunities for the current workforce to upskill or undertake professional development.
• Blended learning delivering face-to-face tutorials and synchronous classes to link UNE Moree with students and staff at other campuses.
• Support from industry and community mentors and accelerator programs focused on entrepreneurship and innovation to build students skills and translate ideas into businesses.
• Job-ready skills as the basis of assessment tasks, including as part of placements and industry projects.

COURSE EXAMPLE
Short courses for upgrading employer and employee skills
To support existing business owners and managers, UNE Moree will offer short courses focused on business management and entrepreneurship. This will include subjects such as marketing for business managers, data for business managers, business leadership and enterprise. Assessments will be practical and linked to the student’s current role.

UNE Moree will provide the region with access to a wider range of educational and research opportunities and create an access model for those otherwise denied engagement by geography, social dynamics or economic constraints.

It will build aspiration for the next generation of residents through increased engagement with schools and will support Moree to ‘train and retain’ local talent and attract inbound skills. UNE and Moree will work with government, industry and the community to identify and fund equity initiatives to support remote students to access and attain education.

These initiatives will include:

• out-of-hours and online study options;
• mentoring from industry, community and recent graduates;
• aspiration programs in schools;
• connected study spaces across the region;
• support to access services, e.g. partnerships with industry to provide childcare services, career development and accommodation;
• career planning;
• innovative scholarship programs and financial support models.

UNE supports the fifth highest proportion of students identifying as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander among all Australian public universities. This is the result of many decades of focused effort on initiatives to build aspiration, participation and attainment among these communities.
Our objective is to enable the celebration of First Nations culture and heritage, and ensure the involvement of all in the future of Moree.

UNE Moree will offer courses and initiatives designed specifically to support First Nations students and research, including:

• establishing a node of the Aboriginal Land and Sea Hub;
• establishing the UNE Moree Aboriginal Working Group to provide direction on, and deliver, programs and courses;
• an Indigenous student representative body with direct access to Deans of Faculty and the Executive;
• offerings that embed Aboriginal culture and history;
• cultural awareness programs as part of orientation for all commencing students;
• cultural events to recognise and celebrate the region’s First Nations cultures;
• physical spaces designed to recognise and celebrate the First Nations community;
• access to the Oorala Aboriginal Centre in Armidale;

Aboriginal Land and Sea Hub

The Aboriginal Land and Sea Hub is a partnership between First Nations Communities across NSW, government and UNE to enable the collaboration and connectivity essential for developing greater First Nations Community resilience through the intersection of learning, research and innovation in the Aboriginal land and sea sector.
The three key activities of the hub are to:

• establish and support the Aboriginal Ranger School;
• facilitate and champion research;
• develop the research capacity of First Nations communities.

The Aboriginal Land and Sea Hub will be supported by First Nations cultural and community spaces that embed First Nations culture within the core of Moree’s identity. These spaces will showcase and celebrate First Nations art and cultural practices in a community with a vibrant and growing First Nations population and the wider programs will focus on Indigenous knowledge and enterprise.

As the anchor for learning and teaching across the region, UNE Moree will be home to modern, open and collaborative spaces. Connected through UNE Moree, the spaces will be embedded across the region, creating dispersed opportunities for learning.

This integrated approach will allow Moree to address critical ‘liveability’ gaps through defined precincts in, for example, health via the Centre for Rural Medicine and Health.
Existing infrastructure will be leveraged for learning and research spaces in collaboration with industry, local schools and the broader community. This includes working with First Nations communities to create spaces that celebrate and build knowledge of local First Nations culture and heritage.