Student Support on the Move

Student Support on the Move

How do you take a facility which is already incredibly popular and make it even more accessible? You put it on wheels. With almost 9,000 student visits since it opened less than two years ago, the Gold Coast Student Hub has been a resounding success. In that time students have benefitted from career advice, personal counselling, professional development workshops and many other resources. The Hub is also a place to study, socialise and access a host of other free services like printing, Wi Fi and our monthly BBQ.

When Study Gold Coast began to look at how we could make the Hub even more accessible the obvious answer was to make it mobile, and that’s how the Mobile Student Hub was born. The Mobile Student Hub brings support services, workshops and professional development programs directly to students in high schools and campuses on the Gold Coast. 

Inspiring Young Entrepreneurs

On the day the Mobile Student Hub was launched it was put straight into action with Queensland’s Chief Entrepreneur Leanne Kemp setting out on the road to visit a number of Gold Coast high schools to share her entrepreneurial insights and work with students on their ideas.   

“Today’s students are the lifeblood of the future,” says Ms Kemp. “They are the generation we’ll ultimately look toward for answers to the challenges that we’re not able to admit to ourselves. A prime example is the level of plastics in our oceans, the way we deal with waste and sustainability and the way we look toward future industries like the circular economy. I’m a very hands on person, but I’m also a large strategic thinker, so I do like mixing it with students from primary school right through to university. I’m a big believer in kidpreneurs and their ability to find solutions to our problems.” 

Leanne Kemp sees the Mobile Student Hub as both a great opportunity and innovation for the Gold Coast. 

“When you think about the amount of investment we put into building Hubs as physical spaces in locations around the state this just makes so much sense. It’s that theory of bringing Mohammed to the mountain, but we’re bringing the mountain to Mohammed!”

Career Guidance

From metaphorical mountains to the practicality of career guidance, the Mobile Student Hub is helping Gold Coast students on the move. Donna Naylor is a Career Practitioner who travels with the Mobile Hub and says it provides easier access to essential information to local students.

Donna Naylor with students at the Gold Coast Careers Festival

“We want to give students the opportunity to find out what career paths are open to them on the Gold Coast, as well as their employment opportunities. With the Mobile Hub we can activate it so that students can come along and have a chance to speak to someone like myself who’s really invested in their future development through a fun environment.”

The Mobile Student Hub also gives local schools greater flexibility in the services it can provide for their students, as Donna explains: 

“The Mobile Hub can be used at the school’s own events, so if they have a careers expo coming up the Hub can be activated at that site where students can engage with it. It also has the capability where we can run presentations and workshops, depending on what the schools and the students require. I work with students on career planning, how to write job applications and how to navigate the world of work through understanding individual strengths and the skills necessary for future careers, which not all schools can provide, so the schools appreciate the access to these resources as much as their students do.”