The Aurora Education Foundation was established in 2009, with the vision of Indigenous Australians realising their full academic potential. Education matters; young people who are not engaged in education are at greater risk of unemployment, cycles of low pay, and employment insecurity in the longer term. This in turn affects their income, long-term employability, social participation, mental and physical health, housing stability, and also impacts on the families who support them.
Our programs are designed to achieve four interrelated objectives:
Increase the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students eligible for direct entry to university from high school.
Increase the uptake of Indigenous scholarships for tertiary study.
Increase the number of Indigenous scholars successfully completing postgraduate studies at leading international universities.
Increase the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders with the qualifications to transition to professional careers.
We believe that our work will have a broader impact. Longer term, our goal is that Indigenous Australians will be inspired by Indigenous academic role models, and will be empowered to excel in tertiary education and become the leaders and agents of change in Australian society we know they can be.