Indigenous cultural competency refers to the ability to understand and value Indigenous perspectives and provides the basis upon which Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians may engage positively in a spirit of mutual respect and reconciliation.
"These projects will help inform a national best practice framework for integrating Indigenous Cultural Competency throughout university activities. This has been identified as a way of increasing Indigenous participation in universities," Universities Australia Chief Executive Dr Glenn Withers said today.
The projects have been made possible with support from the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR), and will be overseen by a steering committee from DEEWR, Universities Australia and the Indigenous Higher Education Advisory Council.
The four pilot projects are:
- Edith Cowan University ($90,000): A project to develop a culturally competent university curriculum for law, physiotherapy and public health
- The University of Newcastle ($90,000): A project to implement a culturally competent curriculum in the Faculty of Business and Law, and to develop business partnerships to promote the value of culturally competent university graduates
- The University of Western Australia ($80,000): A project to produce an Indigenous cultural competency resource kit supported by workshops for four target groups (one faculty, the Bunbury campus, the Foundations of Teaching and Learning Group and a cross-sectional group)
- University of Wollongong ($40,000): A project to incorporate Indigenous storytelling techniques in early childhood and primary education courses through the use of the ground-breaking 'Slowmation' technology
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