Urbis has partnered with the Aurora Education Foundation to champion Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander success and support career pathways for Indigenous students within the urban consulting industry.
The Aurora Education Foundation is an Indigenous organisation that supports Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students from the end of Year 7 through to mid-career, enabling students to realise their full academic and career potential.
The partnership provides an exciting opportunity for Urbis to support the genuine and lasting impact that Aurora has already created through its programs, to contribute to their strategic goals, and to deliver on a core commitment in our Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) to improve Indigenous employment outcomes, not just at Urbis, but across the urban consulting industry.
Aurora’s programs and frameworks include supporting Indigenous students and their families with access to mentorship, educational, wellbeing, and cultural support through their High School Programs (HSP); placing university students in internships at host organisations nationally to gain industry experience; and scholarship programs which remove financial barriers to domestic and overseas study.
Their Redefining Indigenous Success in Education (RISE) program is the first longitudinal quasi-experimental study of its kind, analysing how Indigenous students define success and what supports are the most effective in encouraging them to pursue their education goals.
According to Aurora’s 2025 RISE Impact Report: “An evaluation of the RISE program shows that the programs with more intensive support contribute to higher levels of social wellbeing, stronger school engagement, and deeper connections to Indigenous identity.”
Since 2006, Aurora has placed more than 3,000 students in internships, supported more than 900 student placements transitioning into internships, and has an extensive alumni network.
Through the Charlie Perkins Scholarship and the Roberta Sykes Scholarship, Aurora has supported over 100 First Nations postgraduate students to study at some of the most prestigious universities in the world, including the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, Harvard University, and New York University.
Working alongside Aurora, Urbis will explore and identify opportunities and pathways for Indigenous students, including those interested in pursuing a career in the urban consulting industry.
The partnership commenced July 1, 2025, for an initial 12-month term.