Creating Social Innovation in Indigenous Communities through the RARE Program

Our Remote and Rural Enterprise (RARE) program connects students across the University and offers an opportunity to collaborate on solving real-world problems. Through the BUSS4903 unit: Social Innovation in Indigenous Communities, students partnered with social enterprises to help solve a problem identified by the project partners as crucial to their organisations' or a community's long term sustainability.

Read below to find out how the program has helped students develop their understanding of the Indigenous culture, strengthen their problem-solving skills and prepare them for their future, professional careers.

Christina Liu

When I had applied for the RARE Program for BUSS4903 Social Innovation for Indigenous Communities, I had expected something like what I had encountered at Uni so far - a subject which I could learn and broaden my knowledge. However, after 5 weeks and the completion of the subject, I had gained much more than that.

I was able to gain a better understanding of Indigenous Communities and their deep, rich history around traditional native plant growing processes on Country. The unit involved closely working with Black Duck Foods, an Indigenous Social Enterprise which focusses on traditional food growing processes and the establishment of a Native Grains Industry which will benefit Indigenous People. We were able to learn invaluable real-life skills, communicating directly to the enterprise we were given a brief on.

The RARE program unit staff were heavily engaged and involved with the entire process of our project, from organising speakers to personally giving us feedback at every opportunity. The support of the unit staff as well as working with industry partners and like-minded team members enabled me to walk away from the subject with transferrable industry skills and a more holistic world view.

Christina Liu

Kim Berney

BUSS4903 is hands-down one of the best units I've taken at USYD. I feel very fortunate to have partaken in the unit.

The professors who run this course are extremely knowledgeable in both the theoretical and practical components of the unit. It's very refreshing to experience a course that allows students to interact with 'clients', create works that will be of real/tangible value to others, and enjoy the taste of a 'real-life' practice (rather than being primarily caught up in theory and academia).

Equally, it's quite uncommon to see professors be so generous with their time and helpful with their approach. The professors were unequivocally motivated, in turn successfully sparking curiosity and ambition from students. Collaboration and communication were ubiquitous and enjoyed by all classmates.

This course very positively impacted me as it helped train my ability to handle ambiguity and complexity. I developed a stronger ability to draw data/insights from qualitative interviews and learnt to feel comfortable in a multidisciplinary and multicultural setting.

The course equips students with a more comprehensive and realistic toolkit (than traditional units), better preparing us for our professional careers.

Kim Berney

Vanessa Peiru Li

The RARE program is a synthesis of both learning and practicing. It provides an opportunity for students to develop and apply skills including teamwork, communication, analytical thinking, community engagement, stakeholder management, and the ability to work well under pressure.

The program allows us to explore real-world problems Indigenous social enterprises currently face and gave us enough freedom and flexibility to generate innovative ideas and solutions. These problems were challenging and complex in terms of both social and commercial aspects. During this program, I gradually learned why social enterprises faced these problems, why these problems are difficult to get grips with and why solving these problems is critical.

Beyond learning more about entrepreneurship and management of a remote and rural enterprise, my RARE experience also expanded my knowledge and enhanced my understanding of the Indigenous culture and the socio-cultural differences between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities which should be recognised, understood and respected.

I would say the best thing about this program is the full support received from the RARE team. The workshops are well organised and cover many topics including social innovation theories and case studies, action research methods, pitching skills etc. that will equip students to succeed in this program as well as future study/work. In addition, our supervisors actively help us identify and reach the resource we need, provide feedback promptly and bridge the gap caused by online studying and remote collaboration.

In general, the RARE program is amazing and unique! With domestic travel resuming, working alongside a remote enterprise, and engaging with the community in person will be possible, I believe future students will have even more memorable experiences.

Vanessa Peiru Li

Learn more about the BUSS4903 unit: Social Innovation in Indigenous Communities, available to students enrolled in the Bachelor of Advanced Studies.