The tracks2uni website was officially launched by the Victorian Minister for Education, the Honourable Martin Dixon, MP and the Minister for Higher Education and Skills, the Honourable Peter Hall, MP on 14 February 2014 at the Aboriginal Advancement League, in Melbourne.
Tracks2uni is an animated interactive website using digital-storytelling techniques to boost student aspirations by presenting information about courses, universities and professions in an engaging, culturally safe format.
The website was purpose-built for Koorie Students from Year 10 onwards under the guidance of the Victorian Aboriginal Education Association Incorporated (VAEAI) and the Toornong Marnong Project Steering Committee.
Professor Mark Rose from La Trobe University and Associate Professor Katie Hughes from VU, Co-Chairs of the Toornong Marnong Project Steering Committee, believe that the website helps students to separate a big goal, such as a chosen career path, into small and achievable steps.
"Planning a career path can seem like a daunting task. It's important for students to realise that you achieve a big goal, like becoming a doctor, lawyer or any other profession, through a sequence of small steps," says Associate Professor Hughes.
"It starts with something as simple as doing well in your next school assessment. That result in turn, gives you the chance to go on to university. You don't have to complete all of the steps at once.
"This approach is at the heart of this website's design. Students select up to three of the 15 available interest areas, with each field providing a clear description of what it entails and the possible career options that stem from it.
"Once students are satisfied with their selection of interest areas, courses and universities, their contact details are collated and dispatched via email to the appropriate universities, selected by the students," she says.
Tracks2uni also include short video interviews with Indigenous university students and professionals who discuss their own educational journeys - and the challenges they overcame along the way.
The website was piloted at the 'BIG DAY OUT' event hosted by La Trobe University at Bendigo campus in September 2013 with great success.
The official launch was held in conjunction with the Year 12 Koorie student graduation dinner, organised by the VAEAI.
You can visit the website at www.tracks2uni.edu.au
