Citizen Scholar Award
The Citizen Scholar Award is a framework for the development of Citizen Scholars – Students who, not only are lifelong learners, but are critical thinkers, problem solvers and active, engaged citizens.
What is the Citizen Scholar Award?
The Award aims to enhance student learning and to develop their self- awareness, understanding of one’s talents, values and interests, and to develop a particular set of skills, attributes and knowledge that have been identified as essential for ‘Citizen Scholars’.
Students are encouraged to interact with other perspectives and voices, to receive frequent feedback about their performance, and to reflect on both that feedback and their learning.
This self-paced program comprises of three levels: Level 1: Explore; Level 2: Refine; Level 3: Reflect.
To promote a holistic approach, within the levels there are four strands:
Professional Development; Personal Development and Wellbeing; Community Engagement; Global Citizenship.
The Aims of the Citizen Scholar Award
Students will develop 21st-century graduate attributes of critical thinking, value-based decision making, personal responsibility, and global citizenship, and are encouraged to question the status quo, embrace change and uncertainty, and engage with their community. Students will step outside their comfort zone, meet new people and gain a deeper understanding of both themselves, their community and global issues.
The objective of the Award is for students to develop confidence, skills, knowledge and become an engaged, aware citizen. This includes:
- Critical Thinking
- Cross cultural competencies and global citizenship
- Resilience
- Process driven
- Team Work and collaboration
- Communication
- Creativity
- Ethical leadership
- Critical reflection
- Adaptability and mistakability
Benefits of the Award
- Appears on your Graduation Statement.
- Encourages you to build friendships and networks within and outside your area of study.
- Provides recognition for the Bachelor of Applied Leadership and Critical Thinking (BALCT).
- Gain valuable experience and professional skills such critical thinking, communication and leadership development.
- Build confidence, self-reflection, personal and professional growth.
- Opportunities to act on and develop personal passions and interests.
- The Award is designed to allow you to include much of what they are already engaged in, such as volunteering and University leadership roles.
Who can apply
- The Award is available to all Academy students regardless of your degree program.
- Enrolments are open at the beginning of each semester. You may join the Award at any point in your degree provided you have at least 40 credit points (or part time equivalent) remaining on your undergraduate degree to be eligible.
Program Requirements
- Throughout the Award students will need to accrue at least 25 points in each of the four strands. Points can be earned by completing activities, attending events and building your knowledge base.
- In addition to the 25 points, you will need to complete a minimum 60 hours of Community Engagement requirement before completion of your degree.
- Level 1: Explore must be completed in the semester of enrolment in to the Award program. Community Engagement hours can be accumulated for the activities you were involved in from the academic year in which you joined.
How to apply
Apply to be part of the Citizen Scholar Award. You will be directed to log into CareerHub to access the application form.
Detailed Program Information
The Program
The Award offers a tiered approach to participating, acknowledging that everyone has busy schedules and student may be juggling paid work, families and studying to maintain their GPA.
The three levels within the Award enables you to develop your experiences, personal efficacy, and leadership skills.
You will expand your Professional Development, Personal Development & Wellbeing, Community Engagement and Global Citizenship proficiencies.
To complete the Award students need to be self-directed, reflective and motivated.
Levels
At each level students need to complete a form and the required activities before progressing to the next level.
The three levels are:
Level 1: Explore
The first level of the Award is the ‘exploration’ stage. At this level students start to identify skills, knowledge and competencies relevant to their future career and personal interest as well as identify the communities they connect with.
Level 2: Refine
Once students have identified the competencies, skills and knowledge, they would like to develop, they enter the ‘Refining’ stage, where they start tailoring their personal Citizen Scholar journey
and begin participating in projects, volunteering, events and any other activities.
Level 3: Reflect
This level allows students to personally ‘reflect’ on their journey, unpack their learning and personally assess their growth throughout the Award.
Students will be finalising and logging their service learning projects, volunteering or community-based research projects as well as their strand points activities.
Strands
Strand one: Professional Development Strand
The goal of the Professional Development strand is to encourage you to build confidence around navigating your future career. You will identify goals and activities that will help clarify your career interests.
Strand two: Personal Development and Wellbeing Strand
This strand is designed to enable you to prioritise self-awareness, health and wellbeing. You will explore and identify goals to develop your Personal Development & Wellbeing.
Strand three: Community Engagement Strand
The goal of the Community Engagement strand is for you to make a difference in the community through volunteering, community, advocacy, research and service learning projects. There is a minimum requirement of 60 involvement hours. This can be across several different projects, however they will need to be a blend of on and off campus projects.
Activities associated with the Community Engagement strand include:
- Volunteering/service learning internship with a community organisation
- Involvement with MATES/LEAD/AIME/ Representation or other University volunteering programs
- Work with a researcher on a community connected research project
Strand four: Global Citizen Strand
The Global Citizen strand is designed to increase your awareness of global issues, to appreciate diversity and understand cultural sensitivity.
Global Citizenship refers to a sense of belonging to a broader community and common humanity. It emphasises political, economic, social, religious and cultural interdependency and interconnectedness between local, national and global communities (UNESCO).
Mobile options:
