Aurora establishes a Pilot program in 2011 to support Indigenous High School students, that interweaves culture and academic support. Today, the High School Program is working with Elders and Indigenous Mentors to support students from Year 8 to the first year out of school to; these students have doubled High School completion, tripled ATAR attainment and doubled transition to university compared to Indigenous students Australia-wide.
First Indigenous CEO and Aurora Alumnus, Leila Smith is appointed, as Aurora becomes an Indigenous organisation.
Emerging number of Indigenous students moving through Aurora’s interconnected pathways from high school through to university and the workplace, redefining Indigenous educational and career success.
Our Internship program has placed over 3,300 Indigenous and non-Indigenous interns at more than 240 organisations in and outside the Indigenous sector since 2004.
First full-time Indigenous Scholars (Paul Gray and Christian Thompson) commenced in Oxford in 2010 through the Charlie Perkins Scholarship, administered by Aurora.
Indigenous leadership has always been a key part of Aurora’s work. Founded by Richard Potok in 2006 as the Aurora Project, Aurora has been instrumental in supporting international pathways in education for Indigenous scholars. Richard’s commitment to Aurora has contributed to supporting a growing number of Indigenous Australian leaders, mentors and role models.
Launch of annual international Study Tour that takes Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander university students aspiring to undertake post-graduate studies on a 5-week visit to overseas universities such as Cambridge, Oxford and Harvard. 171 Indigenous students have participated in the Aurora Study Tour; of those who have applied to the universities visited 94% have been accepted.
New vision and mission has been developed with input from the whole organisation:
Our vision is a society in which Australia’s First Peoples determine their own aspirations through education and life-long learning, shaping a new future for our country.
Our mission is to inspire First Peoples in their education journey and connect them with educational and career opportunities that enable them to realise their potential.
Aurora supports students and scholars to achieve unparalleled outcomes and shift the conversation to one of proud and talented students with limitless potential. To achieve systemic change, we are committed to an authentic and trusted approach, evidence-based decision making and a long-term focus.
Aurora’s Theory of Change is developed, capturing the intersection of our work along different levels of impact for individuals, community, institutions and wider society.
Launch of the Indigenous Pathways Portal as an aggregator of a wide range of Scholarships available to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander undergraduate and postgraduate students in Australia and overseas.
Minister Wyatt said during Parliament question time:
“The internship student I had is now going to Columbia, in the United States, and will study on a scholarship. It has opened many doors for her in a way that was never there before. She lacked confidence. Through this program, we’re now seeing her excel. I will be looking at all of the opportunities to take our children into the top 15 payroll jobs that exist in this nation. That’s where they will succeed. That’s where they will be least expected to succeed.”
To ensure we continue to deepen the impact of our work nationally, Aurora establishes a second office, located in Perth.
Our Indigenous Mentors are going to classrooms and communities across Australia through Outreach sessions, acting as role models by inspiring younger students to set their own aspirations and foster self-determination to help students define their own version of success. Aurora’s Indigenous Mentors have given back to the community by undertaking more than 5000 hours of outreach sessions with more than 600 Indigenous high school students and supported them to think about their academic and career goals.
As part of our brand review, we worked with Gamilaroi artist Emma Hicks to redesign our corporate logo in order to best reflect our brand values and aspirations.
Aurora’s new logo is inspired by sandstone rock pools and responds to the themes of connectedness, inspiration, guidance, growth and journey for the students in our programs and pathways and our wider community.
Each rock pool is connected to and has a relationship with the other. The physical factors of a rock pool are not fixed, the rock that surrounds it, the sea water in it and the air above it. Like all ecosystems, a rock pool is linked to the wider world, must be able to cope with a constantly changing environment, are nurseries and roosting places and provide shelter.
In the memory of Indigenous leader and activist Charlie Perkins – one of the first Aboriginal students in Australia to graduate from university – a scholarship program was launched to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to study overseas. The Charlie Perkins Scholarship Trust partners with Aurora to deliver the Charlie Perkins Scholarships to the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. The Charlie Perkins Family and Trust have been instrumental in the establishment of the Aurora Education Foundation and continue to be a highly valued partner.
In 2009, with the assistance of the University of Oxford, the Charlie Perkins Trust established the annual Charlie Perkins Scholarships to support two talented Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Australians each to undertake postgraduate study at the University of Oxford from 2010. In 2011, with support from the Cambridge Commonwealth, European and International Trust, the Scholarships also became available for study at the University of Cambridge.
In 2010, there had never been an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander student studying full-time at Oxford or Cambridge. A decade later, in 2020, 26 Charlie Perkins Scholars had been accepted into full-time studies at these universities of which 18 have graduated.
In the 1970s Black Women’s Action (BWA) began when Sue Chilli, Marcia Langton, Naomi Myers and Roberta Sykes decided to form an information group. They went on to raise funds for Roberta Sykes to attend Harvard University when no government funds were forthcoming. In 1984, Roberta graduated from Harvard as the first black Australian to graduate from an American university. Roberta then returned to Australia to take up the reins of BWA.
In 2008 it was renamed the Roberta Sykes Indigenous Education Foundation (RSIEF), continuing Roberta’s legacy by supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to undertake postgraduate study abroad. RSIEF scholarships, both scholarships for post graduate students and bursaries for professionals, are now administered and delivered by Aurora.
