CAREERS

FUTURES: Our First Experiential Learning - Federation University Tour

On the 10th of November in 2021, the Year 9 students at Brookside College had the opportunity to visit the Federation University in Ballarat. Federation University was officially established in 2014 as a result of a merge between the University of Ballarat and Monash University’s Gippsland campus. The University of Ballarat was one of Australia’s oldest tertiary education institutions in Australia, established back in 1870. The university caters for a large variety of undergraduate and research studies, such as humanities and social science, engineering, business, science and mathematics, visual arts, as well as TAFE.

During their excursion, the students were given a brief tour of the Camp Street, SMB, and Mount Helen campuses, and even got to visit the Art Gallery of Ballarat. The Camp Street Campus is located in central Ballarat, nearby the Art Gallery. Thematically, the campus houses the Arts Academy and various Arts-related degrees. Within a 15-to-20-minute walk is the SMB Campus, which offers training from Certificate level through to Advanced Diploma and Degree level studies. Federation University’s largest campus, the Mount Helen Campus, is located further south of Ballarat and houses the School of Education and Arts, School of Health Sciences, School of Science, IT and Engineering, and the Business School.

Throughout their tour, the students got to learn all about how Federation University operates, hearing about the various clubs and societies on offer, social gatherings, and even how the smaller class sizes mean stronger relationships with lecturers, similar to their current situation at Brookside. They were also able to hear from the Future Students Team and current students, getting to learn more about the university, and the different pathways they could take from Year 9.