India – This nursing and midwifery professional practice and community engagement placement will enable students to engage collaboratively with local communities and health professionals to provide health promotion, health care and community engagement activities facilitated by the Catholic Health Association of India in Hyderabad. Students will gain insights into the challenges of offering healthcare in a developing region and a global perspective.
Vanuatu – This nursing and midwifery professional practice and community engagement placement offers a unique experience in the Port Vila Central Hospital and Emua Village community. Students will work directly with patients, clients and local health workers to provide clinical care to patients and collaborate with family members.
Staying with a family in Emua Village students will also provide health checks to school children, offer maternal and childcare, and any care that is required of community village members while experiencing and learning about NiVan culture.
Timor Leste – This nursing, midwifery and paramedicine professional practice and community engagement placement offers students a unique experience to engage with local communities and to work alongside healthcare professionals. Students will examine the impact of cultural beliefs and practices upon health and wellbeing and evaluate the global trends and developments relating to health and wellbeing in a developing country. Students will also gain insights into the challenges of offering healthcare in a developing region and a global perspective.
Chile – The Pontifical Catholic University of Chile in Santiago de Chile facilitates this nursing professional and community engagement placement. Students will attend lectures on the Chilean healthcare system and on the health issues affecting its population. Students will also take part in visits to public and private healthcare facilities in Santiago and learn about the Indigenous Mapuche community and their traditional health therapies and challenges.
Nepal – During this two-week program, nursing students will engage in professional practice experience through the provision of health promotion, healthcare, along with community engagement activities relevant to the region. Clinical placements will take place at Grande International Hospital and Tilganga Eye Hospital in Kathmandu.
The Philippines – This nursing professional placement is facilitated by the University of Santo Tomás in Manila. Students work alongside local health practitioners in clinics, hospitals and community organisations to provide health promotion, healthcare and community engagement activities.
Boston, USA – This experience is offered in alternative years, and is next offered in 2025. Nursing students will experience an observational placement in a healthcare setting and a week of community engagement activities in partnership with Boston College. Students will also attend lectures on the healthcare system to gain a unique perspective and will engage with local healthcare professionals as well as nursing students from other countries.
Units in which community engagement is embedded:
These experiences are available to second- and third-year Bachelor of Nursing students enrolled in:
- NRSG267 Integrating Practice 4
- NRSG373 Integrating Practice 5
Some of these experiences are available to Bachelor of Midwifery students enrolled in:
- MIDW351 Global Perspectives on Midwifery
A limited number of these experiences are available to Bachelor of Paramedicine students enrolled in:
- PARA323 Community Engagement and Paramedic Practice Innovations
ACCORDIAN
Nutrition science and dietetic practice
ACU Rome: Food, culture and community engagement
Students who undertake an experience in Rome will spend some time working on projects to regenerate suburban areas with organisations such as ReTake Roma. This might include removing graffiti, weeding and planting, rubbish collection or rejuvenating a playground. Others may work on food rescue projects with students writing and testing recipes for rescued foods to share with programs such as ReCup Roma as part of work placement activities. Depending on the unit of study, the overall experience will be between 10 and 15 days, excluding travel days, with one to eight days of direct community engagement activities.
Accommodation is at the ACU Rome Campus and included in the cost of the experience. We partner with a number of organisations to deliver the overall program including Gustolab International. From 2026, we expect to run the program in late January and over Easter. Students in undergraduate degrees need to have completed 80 credit points to participate, which usually occurs during their second or third year.
Units in which community engagement is embedded:
- NUTR308 Food and Culture Study Tour (elective for all eligible students) – two weeks
- NUTR609 Food and Culture Study Experience (elective for all eligible students)
- NUTR603 Engaging with Communities (core unit in the MDP, elective for GCCNS or other eligible students)
Bali: Preserving food cultures and sustainable food systems
Students who choose to undertake a unit in our Bali program work alongside communities to improve food systems through building and hanging bee boxes and planting trees to build diversity in forest areas. They will contribute to the rice-growing cycle in heritage-listed rice growing regions, or work on permaculture projects in waste recycling, or with villagers to reduce plastic waste, and perhaps talk to farmers about safe and healthy ways to treat livestock.
Depending on the unit of study, the overall experience will be between 10 and 15 days, excluding travel days, with six to 12 days of direct community engagement activities. Accommodation is at homestays in villages and towns and included in the cost of the experience. Our main partner for the Bali program is Tri Hita Karana Bali. From 2025, we expect to deliver our program in Bali for students in June/July. Students in undergraduate degrees need to have completed 80 credit points to participate, which usually occurs during their second or third year.
Units in which community engagement is embedded:
- NUTR308 Food and Culture Study Tour (elective for all eligible students)
- NUTR609 Food and Culture Study Experience (elective for all eligible students)
- NUTR603 Engaging with Communities (core unit in the MDP, elective for GCCNS or other eligible students)
Local experiences: Nutrition science students undertake local community engagement experiences focussing on food and nutrition with a number of ACU Engagement’s community engagement partners.
Dietetic practice
This 15-day placement sees students work on food and nutrition issues within a community setting. A key approach for students undertaking this placement is spending time within the community and community organisations to facilitate strengths-based approaches to support community needs. The placement allows students to 'get to know' the community and work with, rather than on, the community. An important aim for each partnership is that the work of one student or group of students builds on the work of previous students so that the program builds responsively and sustainably. Examples where ACU Master of Dietetic Practice students have been engaged with community include the ACU and Order of Malta partnership in the northern suburbs of Melbourne, FareShare, Cultivating Community, Stellar Experiences and St John of God Accord. Students generally undertake this experience over the ACU winter semester.
Unit in which community engagement is embedded:
- NUTR603 Engaging with Communities
ACCORDIAN
Occupational therapy
India – This community engagement experience is available to second-year occupational therapy students. Activities will take place in Hyderabad and surrounding districts arranged by the Catholic Health Association of India (CHAI). Students engage collaboratively with local communities and health professionals to provide health promotion, healthcare and community engagement activities. Students gain insights into the challenges of offering healthcare in a developing region and develop a distinctive global perspective on healthcare.
Unit in which community engagement is embedded:
- OTHY204 Occupational Participation and Disability
Timor Leste – This four-week professional and community engagement placement in Dili and regional districts is available to four third-year occupational therapy students. Students will provide evidence-based occupational therapy assessment and intervention to adults and children, accessing the National Hospital Guido Valadares in Dili and two non-for-profit organisations, Klibur Domin in Tibar and Klibur Aleizadu (Katilosa) in Baucau. In addition, students will provide education, training and development to hospital staff and community workers. This experience will encourage students to develop valuable knowledge and skills in acute, community and culturally diverse settings.
Unit in which community engagement is embedded:
- OTHY303 Professional Practice Education 1
ACCORDIAN
Physiotherapy
Timor Leste – This five-week clinical and community engagement placement is available to fourth-year physiotherapy students. A full-time clinical placement in a hospital outpatient department will help students develop knowledge and skills in acute, community and culturally diverse settings. Students will offer evidence-based physiotherapy assessment and intervention to adults and children in an outpatient setting, working under the supervision of an ACU academic and a Timor Leste (Australia-trained) physiotherapist at the Hospital Nacional Guido Valadares in Dili, and two non-for-profit organisations, Klibur Domin in Tibar, and Klibur Aleizadu (Katilosa) in Baucau.
Unit in which community engagement is embedded:
Vietnam – This four-week community engagement experience in Da Nang or Hoi An is for four fourth-year physiotherapy students. Students engage collaboratively with other allied health students, local communities, and health professionals in a paediatric setting offering health promotion, health care and community engagement activities. Students will gain insights into the challenges of offering health care in a developing region and a global perspective.
Unit in which community engagement is embedded:
