In a time of crisis, it can take just one extra stressor to derail someone’s studies – but donor-funded scholarships and emergency bursaries are helping CQUni students stay on track.
Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the University is providing every level of support possible to domestic and international students (in addition to our regular student support services) including care packages of laptops, internet dongles, food parcels and supermarket vouchers.
Donor-funded emergency bursaries and scholarships have been a lifeline to students in this time. Scholarships provide a stable source of support for students like Carolyn Bailey, CQUniCares GWI Scholarship recipient to focus on her Bachelor of Social Work studies, while emergency bursaries provide immediate relief in cases of urgent distress.
Emergency grant disbursements – available to both domestic and international students – have quadrupled compared to this time in 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic – which followed a catastrophic bushfire season in Australia – has resulted in extraordinary challenges for many of our students, which is reflected in the rise of requests for CQUniCares emergency financial grants.
In these challenging times, philanthropy is essential to help and bring hope to those who need it most. More than 40% of our international students are struggling financially and emotionally. They are facing food and housing insecurity and are worried about family back home.
To help, we have launched the CQUni Melbourne - International Student Support Appeal, which provides financial assistance to students experiencing critical hardship.
These grants are a critical part of how CQUni can respond immediately to those facing urgent crisis – bringing hope and concrete support as soon as the need emerges.
“Struggling with all the life changes that came with the COVID-19 outbreak, being a student has been difficult. However, we are not alone - CQUni has supported me, checking frequently how I am coping with it, and even provided me with a laptop and wifi modem to facilitate my high-quality studies.”
- CQUniversity student, April 2020
In addition to this student support, our community recovery response remains a key focus. University staff and researchers are contributing to the fight against COVID, and the ways people may be impacted due to this.
Professor Adrian Miller has been selected as a researcher for the Australian Partnership for Preparedness Research on Infectious Disease Emergencies (APPRISE) COVID-19 research, researching the challenges and impacts faced by First Nations people.
CQUniversity Associate Professor Olav Muurlink from the School of Business and Law and Professor Andrew Taylor-Robinson from the School of Health, Medical and Applied Sciences were working on modelling the spread of dengue fever when the COVID crisis struck, but have pivoted to use their analysis to focus on COVID-19.
To stay up to date on how CQUniversity is responding to the COVID-19 crisis, please visit our COVID-19 Advice webpage.
