The Centre of Excellence for Equity in Higher Education at the University of Newcastle has recently launched My Big Tomorrow, a new website designed for Year 9 and 10 students to assist with career pathway planning.
Funded by the Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Programme (HEPPP), My Big Tomorrow aims to fill a gap identified by research by combining resources focussed on careers, literacy and numeracy. The site features over 90 careers, each with embedded inspirational films and interactive educational modules, and shows users the subjects they could choose for their Higher School Certificate, as well as the tertiary pathway they could follow, to position them for the career of their choice.
Each module has been developed to show the relevance of the subjects students are learning at school and how literacy and numeracy skills are applied in the workplace.
High school educators and career advisers also have the opportunity to incorporate the website into classwork or utilise during career adviser sessions and workshops.
My Big Tomorrow was developed in conjunction with local schools and students who provided input and feedback throughout the process. Belinda Munn, Associate Director of the Centre of Excellence for Equity in Higher Education, said the collaboration was pivotal to the creation of the initiative, guiding the design and content of the website in order to appeal to teenagers Australia-wide.
“The University of Newcastle has a strong commitment to including and valuing the voice of our community members, especially young people, so it was an important part of the project to involve students from the beginning to develop a resource that featured the information and tools they wanted access to,” said Munn.
