This time last week I was in India as part of a short trip
overseas. I stopped in India on the way back from the Middle East to attend
alumni events and to also visit the children at the Salaam Baalak Trust (SBT).
As always it was a great visit. India is a wonderful country.
It’s always inspiring to catch up with our Indian alumni as
so many have gone on to achieve remarkable things and most importantly are now
helping others to do the same. It’s also fantastic to hear about how proud they
are to be an alumnus of CQUniversity and hear their stories of studying in
Australia. It’s great to see this cohort is still so engaged with their
university and even better that they have so many ideas in relation to our
Strong to Great vision.
With CQUni Alumni
Whenever I visit India I also try to organise some time at
the Salaam Baalak Trust. CQUniversity has a long running partnership with SBT
and we are proud to support the work they do, giving some of Delhi’s most
disadvantaged children a new life. CQUniversity contributes financially to the
Trust and also sponsors the SBT City Walk program run by some of the Trust’s
older children. Along with this we also fund a number of scholarships for SBT students
to attend university in India – something that is life changing for the
recipients. Hearing about their study success is always a highlight!
The Salaam Baalak Trust also changes the lives of other
students as well – those of our students who visit during study tours. Each
year groups of education and nursing students travel to India to work with the staff
and children at SBT and all of them say how the trip not just enriched their
learning experience but so too changed their lives.
With the amazing children at SBT
Currently, another group of CQUniversity students
(engineers) are also in India as part of an Engineers Without Borders tour. The
tour is made up of 45 students from universities across Australia and 17 of
these students are studying engineering at CQUni. This opportunity sounds
incredible as they will be working with community leaders in Pune (near Mumbai)
to identify community challenges and design solutions for them. At the end of
two weeks they will deliver these solutions back to the community. The whole
experience is based on human centred design and will focus heavily on social
innovation. I would have loved to join them, even for just a few days to share
this experience but unfortunately time didn’t permit. Fortunately, our university photographer and
cameraman is touring with them though so in a few weeks I should be able to
share some great photos and footage of this.
I think it’s so great that before the study year even begins
some of our students are already discovering the world and finding ways to make
a positive difference. Looking forward to hearing their stories and seeing the
images.
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