Early in September 2003, Adelaide City Council launched a new web site aimed at encouraging students to come and study in Adelaide’s tertiary institutions. A large number of students from regional areas of the State each year leave South Australia after completing Year 12 to continue tertiary studies. Many of them do not return following the completion of their studies, taking up positions interstate.
As a result South Australia is losing out from the contribution these talented young rural students can make to the State and the Capital City. To help facilitate the transition from the rural areas to Adelaide, Council launched a Destination Adelaide web site which aims to help keep the brightest and talented young country people in South Australia. This new web site will provide students with all the information they need to live, study and safely enjoy themselves in Adelaide.
Lord Mayor Michael Harbison, in another unique move, decided to launch the web site at Grant High School in Mount Gambier. Mount Gambier was chosen as the site of the launch because it is the only town in South Australia to be among the top 50 towns in Australia which export students.
The new site provides vital information on support services to assist country students make it through the crucial first 12 months of tertiary study in the City. It deals with the key concerns of young people coming to Adelaide – identified through a series of consultations with students from rural and interstate backgrounds – such as finding housing and employment, accessing health care, managing money, getting around Adelaide and coping with home sickness.
It was designed by Luke Gibbs, a young student from Millicent studying at TAFE in Adelaide. A link to Destination Adelaide can be found at www.adelaidecitycouncil.com and on Council’s web site for young people – Spinach – at www.spinach.org.au
