January 30, 2014
The South Burnett’s unique social farming enterprise at Memerambi has been the focus of attention this week for a group of visitors from the University of Sydney.
The group, from the Remote and Rural Enterprise (RARE) program, has been staying at Growing The Burnett’s Red Earth Meadows Farm to study the operation and help produce strategies for the project to move ahead.
RARE is a post-graduate venture within the university’s Innovation & Enterprise Program.
Two Masters of Commerce students, Aila Whittall and James Doyle, and RARE program manager Noah Stewart have been spending the past few days at the farm to cast an eye over the operation.
Two other students – based in Sydney – are also involved in the project remotely.
Aila said the idea was to produce a “big picture” strategy for Growing The Burnett to help it to nail down its core goals and guide its development.
“They are lighting the pathway to make the way forward a bit clearer,” Growing The Burnett project leader Brian Jarvis said.
The program is also a learning experience for the students, providing them with a real-life opportunity to work with a business instead of analysing case studies in the classroom.
“We can take some of the skills we have learned and put them into practice,” James said.
Although they are still studying, each of the students already has much practical experience in the business world.
Aila has been working for seven years as a research scientist in start-up biotech firms.
James has studied finance and economics and has been working in investment banking in Hong Kong.
Their “outside perspective” on the Memerambi operation will help them to prepare a commercial quality document that Growing The Burnett will be able to refer to into the future
And RARE’s linkages with Growing The Burnett could continue with more cohorts of students involved in Semesters 1 and 2.
Noah said RARE, which began in 2009, was currently working on five projects and would be offering 60 scholarships to students to become involved this year.
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- Horticulture Project Starts Growing
- Calling All Would-Be Horticulturalists!
- $66,000 Grant For Horticultural Trainees
- Workshop To Focus On Seed Planting
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- Farming ‘Should Be Fun’
