Nyerna studies: Thinking about community research

Over the past six years, Victoria University of Technology, Melbourne, has been working in partnership with the Indigenous people of Echuca on the design and implementation of a highly innovative Bachelor of Education degree. The program entitled Nyerna Studies, a local Indigenous word meaning 'to sit, to listen, to learn, to remember', has brought together university personnel and local community members to work on serious socio-cultural ideas for mutual benefit, to improve educational outcomes at the tertiary level and to make progress towards local reconciliation.