The social innovation and impact space has been abuzz with activity so far in 2018. This social impact wrap contains information on programs, partnerships and opportunities creating change in our communities.
CQUni partners with Orange Sky Australia
CQUni is excited to announce its partnership with Orange Sky Australia as a sponsor of the Townsville Hybrid Vehicle, a free mobile laundry and shower service to people experiencing homelessness.
The partnership offers an important service to the Townsville community and means Townsville-based CQUni staff and students will have opportunities to participate as volunteers of the van.
The University’s social innovation agenda is committed to working with local communities to improve socioeconomic health and wellbeing, education, and environmental ecosystems. Read more…
#StartingGood Social Enterprise Summit
CQUniversity partner organisation StartSomeGood is hosting the #StartingGood Social Enterprise Virtual Summit, and we are excited to let you know of this fantastic opportunity. Running from 19-31 March, this free summit is made up of several sessions featuring social innovation experts talking about their personal stories and learnings, practical tips and ideas to create meaningful societal change. Summit speakers include:
- Jan Owen, CEO of CQUniversity partner organisation Foundation for Young Australians. Jan has been growing the Australian social enterprise, youth and innovation sector for the past 25 years, and will be talking about the future of work in this space.
- Nobel Peace Prize Winner Professor Muhammad Yunus, who will be sharing his advice, vision, and his personal story of becoming the Godfather of Social Business and receiving the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate for his pioneering contribution in microfinance.
- Scott Harrison will be sharing his journey from being a nightclub promoter to Founder and CEO of Charity: Water, which has raised $210 million using creativity and transparency.
- Holly Ransom, Richard Branson’s favourite Australian entrepreneur, brings her expertise in innovation, inter-generational leadership and solving complex problems to talk about macro trends shaping the future.
For more information or to register, visit the #StartingGood website.
Online resource launched for dementia carers
Formal and informal carers now have access to online dementia care resources, courtesy of a CQUni collaborative learning and teaching project.
Officially launched on January 31, A Long Goodbye – Ed’s Story, follows the story of Ed Jones, whose late wife, Mary Jones, was diagnosed with dementia in 2001.
The online suite of materials was developed to target educators and students working in health professions as well as carers, patient families and community members, and is already being adopted by Australia residential aged-care facilities.
Project lead, CQUni Senior Lecturer Adele Baldwin, said Ed’s story depicts how the words and actions of health professionals affect a patient, both positively and negatively. Read more…
First uni to partner with Clean Up Australia
From Melbourne to Cairns, CQUni will be responsible for cleaning 11 sites as part of 2018 Business Clean Up Day on March 21.
Staff, students, friends and graduates will join together for CQUni Clean Ups across the nation and are encouraged to sign up online to participate. Lunch will be provided after the Clean Up. We’d love to have you join us on the day, if you can spare the time.
Students get food for thought
CQUni’s Office of Social Innovation partnered with food rescue social enterprise SecondBite to offer students a one-day volunteering opportunity sorting food for distribution to charity partners.
With the help of hundreds of volunteers, SecondBite collects surplus and waste food from supermarkets nationally, rescuing and redistributing 46,054,060kg of food every year, to provide 92,108,120 meals through nearly 900 community food programs.
The SecondBite opportunity is the first of several off-campus immersive social innovation experiences that will be offered to students this year. Read more…
Jodie’s pitch perfect
CQUni student and staff member Jodie Mlikota has won the Brisbane Global Startup Weekend Women, pitching an idea she developed in an entrepreneurship assignment as part of her CQUni Graduate Certificate in Social Innovation.
Jodie pitched a concept called Gathar, a peer-to-peer platform connecting people who love to cook with people who love to entertain but hate the hard work.
Jodie will now head to Paris to pitch at the International Finals on 7 March. Read more…
Be involved in social innovation opportunities
CQUniversity defines social innovation as ‘engaging with our communities to address entrenched social issues’ and, through the Office of Social Innovation’s Engagement Committee, partners with a wide range of organisations, business and individuals to deliver a range of activities and programs across Australia.
Students, alumni and friends wishing to be involved in social innovation activities can find out more about current opportunities through Social Innovation at CQUniversity.
