This paper speaks to a novel partnership that was facilitated by Central Queensland University (CQUniversity) through the STEM Central facility, funded through an industry and working alongside schools in the aim to support the learning and teaching of STEM with Indigenous children and their families in the Gladstone region. STEM Central is a purpose-built space for collaboration and research-based learning located at CQUniversity Gladstone Marina campus. Gladstone has Queensland’s largest multi-commodity shipping port, and is home to industries including the world’s largest alumina refineries and a unique combination of large resources industries and the World Heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef provide a niche context for local and contextual science learning experiences to be developed and partnerships to be fostered. There is substantial international and national research that has reinforced the requirement for investment in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education and research. STEM education must be relevant, engaging, and innovative to ensure that future generations are well equipped to face an increasingly competitive global economy as new technologies and industries emerge. The core focus of the Buraligim Weiber (place of learning in Gooreng Gooreng) program is to improve linkages to local resources, and to improve engagement, interest and attendance of Indigenous students in Year 3 and Year 4 (7 – 9-year-old) through an innovative Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education program. The program was co-designed, developed and delivered with educators, First Nations people, university, industry and community and has a focus on connection to country through the land and the sea. Within the design and development of this school-university-industry partnership, multiple stakeholder groups provided insight and advice relevant to each of their organisation. Working across a diverse range of stakeholders brought individual expertise that encouraged the inclusion of diverse perspectives in the program’s design. To understand the impact of this partnership, semi-structured interviews of those involved in the development and implementation of the program were conducted. This included the facilitators, school leadership and members of the Gladstone Indigenous community. This paper presents an overview of the development and initial implementation of the Buraligim Weiber program in Gladstone, regional Queensland, and discusses the associated successes, challenges and insights that arose throughout the process of implementation.

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