General News
3 March, 2026
Program sheds a light on student ideas
Illuminate’s first ever run at Maryborough Education Centre (MEC) has showcased what the community might need most, seen down the lens of the town’s young people.
An often overlooked way for a town to identify what the community needs most could be simple, just ask its teenagers.
One program fostering this, Illuminate, has delivered sessions to thousands of students across Australia.
Presented to MEC by its founder, Adam Mostogl, its aim comes from its title, the rapid ignition of bright ideas from young minds to fill a pressing need locally.
It was introduced by MEC science teacher Emma Morgan, who could see the potential of students to excel at the challenge.
“I had done this challenge multiple times at my previous school, and had been blown away with what the students get out of it ... I could just see the potential,” she said.
“The main thing [Adam] is interested in, is the growth and skills ... communication, resilience, problem solving, time management, conflict resolution.
“We wanted [the students] to know they had potential they could use now, they don’t have to wait until the end of school.”
Students were thrown straight into group planning, feasibility assessments, and an expo of prototypes and proposals.
“Each group got to interact with a mentor, who would say ‘have you thought about’ … or “here is this great resource for ...,” Ms Morgan said.
What the school soon realised was a significant overlapping of angles including improving healthcare, tourism, local retail opportunities, and community inclusion.
“One of the groups identified a challenge where you can’t get a doctors appointment … we’ve got this great new hospital, no doctors. Their proposal was for a supported housing scheme to attract new young doctors to Maryborough,” Ms Morgan said.
“A couple of groups were looking at the outdoor pool and a mini TAFE... one of the finalists was a substance abuse support service, an online platform and an app as an anonymous way to get help for yourself and others.
“The winning proposal was based on ‘all abilities’, they were focused on more all access playgrounds, like wheelchair accessible swings, the second place group was a Bristol Hill bike trail.”
Much of Illuminate’s mission heavily aligned with the Foundation for Regional and Rural Renewal (FRRR) ‘road map’ proposal for Maryborough, with the organisation immediately jumping on board in support.
Overseeing numerous submissions, FRRR’s Alistair Shaw was equally moved by the ideas.
“The school really embraced it, they allocated a whole week and two year groups ... a number of groups had the same sort of idea,” he said.
“One of those was about a BMX track ... there was one group that wanted to put Djaara language along signs on their track.
“One said they wanted to have access to the same clothing as if you lived in Bendigo or Ballarat, as an outlet. A group wanted another bookshop, books for teenages, and not from the library … they wanted books they could own and love.
“They also identified social issues that were a real concern to them, such as alcohol and drug addiction and mental health. It’s great to see 14 and 15 year olds thinking about the needs of their community and how they might respond to them, instead of thinking that was someone else’s problem.”
Midway through the week, the town was even flooded with cold calls to members of parliament, council and local businesses, receiving requests for advice, funding, and partnerships.
Students went on to pitch their proposals to a board of community members, under the same conditions community groups would to obtain funding.
The session concluded with awards presented across an array of categories. However, any one of the student’s proposal has potential to extend beyond the classroom.
Mr Shaw said community members will continue revising ideas with potential to gain further momentum.
“Everyone I asked, was like ‘I am so honoured, I am so excited to be helping’,” he said.
“The thing I want to see is the opportunity for the people who want to, to continue to develop their project … I’m hoping that an outcome is some sort of youth incubator with an opportunity for young people to talk about their ideas, and where me and others can help them to curate and develop those ideas.”
Until then, Ms Morgan has been blown away by the more personal outcomes in students following the program.
“When you see a student who struggles to stay in a classroom for a lesson, be in this challenge for five days straight, working on elements in the same project, that stamina for learning is amazing,” she said.
Illuminate is a social enterprise and not for profit, any money they make goes back into their programs. Ms Morgan said the program would not have been possible at MEC without support from FRRR.
“There was a lot of support within the school, but it would not have happened without FRRR and then the amazing volunteers who supported it across the week, also anyone who took a random phone call from a student asking about business insurance,” she said.
“Massive credit to FRRR and Alistair’s group for funding the whole thing, not only that, resources have been put aside to support students who want to take their projects further.
“Watch this space, watch the young people, because there is so much potential in Maryborough.”