Bendigo Tech School

Way back in 2022, we joined forces with Bendigo Health, Goldfields LLEN, La Trobe University, Bendigo Rural Health School, Bendigo TAFE, and RWAV - Rural Workforce Agency Victoria to develop the Allied Health Immersion Day — and yesterday, the event turned 5! 🥳

Over 100 students from Bendigo South East College, Catherine McAuley College, Eaglehawk Secondary College, Girton Grammar School, Indie School Bendigo, and Marist College Bendigo joined us yesterday for our fifth annual Allied Health Immersion Day, getting a fun taste of life as an allied health professional and exploring study and career pathways.

Clinicians from Bendigo Health led interactive workshops showcasing different allied health disciplines, then inspired the students with their own stories and journeys into the industry in a panel discussion. Featured disciplines included:

🔸Occupational Therapy
🔹Speech Pathology
🔸 Social Work and Allied Health Assistance
🔹 Physiotherapy and Exercise Physiology
🔸 Podiatry

We are so proud that the event has reached this key milestone! Since 2022, more than 400 students from 12 Central Victorian schools have attended, a powerful example of the authentic and impactful experiences that can be achieved through education and industry collaboration.

A huge thank you to everyone involved in making the Allied Health Immersion Day a success in 2026 and in years past: our amazing industry and education partners, Bendigo Health clinicians, teachers, students, and Tech School staff. We couldn't do this without any of you. ❤️✨️

Next week, the Bendigo Tech Community is back at Emporium Creative Hub, alongside Bendigo Tech School and Ligantic.

This time around, we're running a small hackathon challenge. Bring your laptop, your tokens, and your creativity.

If you're looking for an evening of building something, curious about tech, or just want to connect with others in Central Victoria's tech scene - this is the room to be in.

🍕 There will be pizza. BTC merch is the prize for the people's choice award.

Grab your free spot on Humanitix: https://events.humanitix.com/july-2026-bendigo-tech-community

What's on your mind heading into this one? Drop it in the comments - good to get the conversation started early.

See you there.

It was fantastic to welcome a group of Bendigo TAFE Transition Education students onsite today for our Digital Storytelling program. 🎥

Since late Term 2, our team have been working with the students to develop their storyboards, and it was amazing to start seeing their ideas come to life. The students spent the day learning different filming, lighting, and editing techniques that best showcased the incredible themed dioramas they made back at TAFE.

We have absolutely loved working with these students and watching their confidence grow throughout the program, and can't wait to welcome another group next week for their filming day. ✨️

What do you call a group of Tech Schools? 🤔

We're not sure either...but we do know that when we're together, innovation, collaboration, and plenty of fun are guaranteed. 🤩

We kicked off this term by welcoming our friends from Wyndham Tech School and South West Tech School to Bendigo for our second Shared Learning Day, showcasing our Forensic FUNdamentals and Digital Storytelling programs while exchanging ideas and learning from each other.

Days like these strengthen our partnerships across the Tech Schools network, helping to create even more meaningful, real-world STEAM opportunities for Victorian students.

Later this year, our team will head down to Warrnambool to catch up with everyone again and check out the brand-new South West Tech School — we can't wait. ❤️

We're still reflecting on the incredible week that was our Entrepreneurial Edge Work Experience Program and the amazing things our students accomplished.🤩

Throughout last week, students from Bendigo South East College, Crusoe College, Highview College, Marist College Bendigo, and Weeroona College Bendigo took on the challenge of solving real problems faced by local industries. They brainstormed, built, tested, refined, and pitched their ideas, all while stepping well outside their comfort zones.

Some highlights from the week included:

🚀 Business workshops run by the Tech School, Bugbox, and the La Trobe University Business School, and industry presentations by the Goldfields LLEN and Thales.

💬 Industry interviews with Be.Bendigo, Bendigo Theatre Company, Farmers2Founders, Golden City Support Services, Lansell Homes, the La Trobe University Rural Health School, and Thales.

🎤 Director Hour, where students received feedback on their ideas and practised delivering their pitches to our Director, Luke.

🌟 Final presentations that showcased just how much the students had learned and grown in a single week.

But by far our favourite part was seeing the newfound friendships between the students. They cheered each other on, celebrated every success, and even gathered to watch the World Cup after their pitches were done (final pic). ⚽

A huge thank you again to our program partners Bugbox, the La Trobe University Business School, and the Goldfields LLEN, as well as our industry collaborators, for working with us to create a truly memorable and meaningful experience to invest in the next generation of innovators. ✨

💡🚀 Innovation, teamwork, and big ideas on display!

Today marked the final day of our Entrepreneurial Edge Work Experience Program, with students pitching their business ideas to a panel of industry professionals, educators, community members, and proud family supporters.

Throughout the week, students from Bendigo South East College, Crusoe College, Highview College, Marist College Bendigo, and Weeroona College Bendigo teamed up to think like entrepreneurs. Working alongside industry mentors, they explored real challenges facing Bendigo's key industries and developed creative digital solutions to help solve them.

Today's pitches were the perfect way to wrap up the program. Every team presented with confidence, explained their ideas, and answered questions from the audience, showing just how much they'd grown in just five days. It was fantastic to see students building skills in communication, teamwork, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving while having fun and making new friends along the way.

A big thank you to our amazing industry mentors for sharing your time, knowledge, and encouragement. The opportunity for students to learn from local professionals and receive real-world feedback is what makes this program so valuable.

The Entrepreneurial Edge Work Experience Program is proudly delivered in partnership with BUGBOX, the La Trobe University Business School, and the Goldfields LLEN. Thank you to everyone involved in creating such an engaging and inspiring learning experience for our students.

Congratulations to every student for embracing the challenge, stepping outside your comfort zone, and showcasing what can be achieved through collaboration, creativity, and entrepreneurial thinking. You should all be so proud of your achievements throughout the week, and we can't wait to see where your ideas and entrepreneurial mindset take you next! 👏✨

What happens when secondary school students get the chance to learn directly from industry leaders? Curiosity is sparked, ideas start flowing, and meaningful connections are made. 💡🙌

As part of this week's Entrepreneurial Edge Work Experience Program, students from Bendigo South East College, Crusoe College, Highview College, Marist College Bendigo, and Weeroona College Bendigo had the unique opportunity to sit down with representatives from some of our region's most influential organisations, grilling them on the challenges, needs, and opportunities shaping the future of their industries.

The insights gained from these conversations will help develop the students' ideas as they work towards their final presentations on Friday. They'll share their solutions with industry representatives, educators, and community members, showcasing a week of learning, collaboration, and creative problem-solving. Register here to join us at the event: https://events.humanitix.com/entrepreneurial-edge-student-pitches-and-networking-event-n2z6fxwf

A huge thank you to the following industry leaders for generously sharing their time, expertise, and insights with the students:

🤝 Hayley Tibbett from Be.Bendigo
🎭️ Kristen Beever from Bendigo Theatre Company
🌱 Skye Prior from Farmers2Founders
❤️‍🩹 Andrew Chittenden and Beau McKenna from Golden City Support Services
🏗️ Jeff Smith from Lansell Homes
🩺 Nick Standen from the La Trobe University Rural Health School
🏭 Dane Bobart, Thomas Moore, and Ryan Beens from Thales

The Entrepreneurial Edge Work Experience Program has been proudly developed and delivered in partnership with Bugbox, the La Trobe University Business School, and the Goldfields LLEN.