Wuyagiba Study Hub

In 2019 the Origin Foundation offered five years of support for the Wuyagiba Bush Uni graduates who are undertaking degrees at Macquarie University. The annual support of $50,000 is split between support for the students ($35,000) and their visiting families ($15,000).

The Wuyagiba-MQU students come from remote Aboriginal communities in the Top End and have been successful at gaining entry to MQU through the specialised “two-way” pre-Uni course developed and offered at the Wuyagiba Study Hub, known as the Bush Uni. The Bush Uni is based at the remote Wuyagiba outstation in southeast Arnhem Land, two hours’ drive from the nearest Aboriginal communities of Numbulwar and Ngukurr.

The Bush Uni has been regularly cited as a local solution to Closing the Higher Education gap in annual Australian Government Closing the Gaps reports since the trial program in 2018. The last and only previous University degree recipients from Ngukurr community graduated from Deakin University in the mid-1980s. We expect our first Wuyagiba-MQU graduate in Semester 1 2023.

Since the Wuyagiba Trial in 2018, over 100 students have graduated from the Wuyagiba Bush Uni pre-Uni courses in Arnhem Land and 23 students have enrolled at Macquarie University in full degrees. In 2022, generous funds from the Origin Foundation supported 12 Wuyagiba-MQU students with top-up scholarships, laptops, medical expenses, accommodation fees and extra-curricular activities such as trips to watch the AFL and the Sydney Royal Easter show. The remaining students are taking a break for various reasons (including cultural, family, health) and will hopefully return to their studies in the future. In 2022, five family members travelled from Arnhem Land to MQU to visit students. This support would not be possible without the Origin Foundation partnership and is integral to the success of these students at Macquarie.

Dr Emilie Ens who worked with Ngukurr Elders to develop the program said that “These students come from very disadvantaged communities which have high unemployment, high youth populations, housing overcrowding, rampant health issues, low life-expectancy, social dysfunction and low school completion rates. The Wuyagiba Study Hub offers people from these communities the opportunity to gain entry to University and develop skills to change the trajectories of their communities towards self-management and self-determination. The financial support of these students who step outside of their comfort zone by coming to MQU is integral to this program’s success. We thank the Origin Foundation and welcome more partnerships to increase the support for these brave students and their families.”

Building on the first four years of funding (2019-2022), the Wuyagiba Study Hub has recently been funded for another four years (2023-2026) by the Australian Government Department of Education, Skills and Employment. This funding supports the Wuyagiba program “out bush” in Arnhem Land with local employment, student support and all education materials and costs covered. The Origin Foundation supports students when they come to study in Sydney at Macquarie, supplementing support from Abstudy and UAC Equity scholarships.

Words: Emilie Ens