UON reaches milestone in Indigenous education
The University of Newcastle (UON) has reached a major milestone of over 1000 Indigenous enrolments for the 2016 year to date (YTD).
The number signifies Indigenous students as 3.5% of the total enrolments at UON, the largest percentage ever at the University.
Professor John Lester, Acting Dean ATSI Education and Research, said the results are a testament to UON as a national leader in the area of Indigenous education.
“I am absolutely over the moon… this has been an impossible dream for me, and one I am extremely proud the University has achieved,” he said.
UON has experienced steady growth in Indigenous enrolments over the past years and has been a pioneer in assisting Australian Indigenous students gain better access into the fields of health, science, business and education.
In particular, UON’s Joint Medical Program has pioneered a pathway for Indigenous students into medicine. The University of Newcastle is proud to have graduated almost half the country’s Indigenous doctors.
“The great activist Chika Dixon once said he thought he would never live to see one Aboriginal doctor. His legacy lives on and I am so proud to say that the University has seen Indigenous medical students & Health enrolments rise from 2.9% in 2014 to 3.6% this year.
“I truly believe Newcastle is now producing some of the best Indigenous graduates in the country, largely down the fantastic staff and support systems in place at UON,” Professor Lester said.
The University of Newcastle is a proud supporter of Indigenous education, with the largest number of Indigenous students of any Australian university. The University also recently celebrated the remarkable success of Wollotuka’s accreditation by the World Indigenous Nations Higher Education Consortium - an Australian first.
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The University of Newcastle acknowledges the traditional custodians of the lands within our footprint areas: Awabakal, Darkinjung, Biripai, Worimi, Wonnarua, and Eora Nations. We also pay respect to the wisdom of our Elders past and present.