Swinburne and Medibank extend first-of-its-kind partnership

Swinburne and Medibank have renewed their three-year partnership to continue providing an integrated health services offering to the Swinburne community. 

In 2017, Swinburne and Medibank came together in a first-of-its-kind partnership to support the health and wellbeing of the Swinburne community, while creating opportunities for strategic collaboration between the two organisations. 

This partnership has been renewed for another three years to deliver further industry engagement opportunities, collaboration in teaching and learning, student work placements in areas across the business and funding to support research and Swinburne students. 

“The health and wellbeing of all members of the broader Swinburne community remains a priority for Swinburne,” says Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Global and Community Engagement) Dr Andrew Smith.

“Our partnership with Medibank allows us to support our community while working on research and projects that can benefit all Australians. I am excited to renew our partnership and look forward to building on the strong connection we have established over the past three years,” he says. 

As part of the partnership, Swinburne staff, students and alumni have access to benefits and discounts across Medibank’s insurance range, including health, pet and travel insurance. Medibank will also continue to be the preferred provider of Overseas Health Cover to international students at Swinburne.

Medibank Senior Executive, (Overseas and Corporate Portfolio) Becky Hyde welcomed the opportunity to extend the relationship with Swinburne to beyond the delivery of health insurance.

“Medibank is excited to continue sharing our broader expertise in health and wellbeing to support Swinburne’s students, staff and alumni, and work collaboratively to drive health innovation in the wider community,” she says. 

”COVID-19 has had an unprecedented impact on the global economy and the Australian education sector. It is in times such as these that the significance of trusted and collaborative partnerships is crucial for success.” 

Research highlights

The initial three-year partnership opened opportunities for conducting research projects, drawing on Swinburne researchers’ expertise in digital health. 

Medibank supported a team of Swinburne researchers who conducted a randomised trial with Swinburne’s students testing a mental health and performance improvement solution created by Uprise, an online behavioural health program and service. 

Medibank has also supported another team of Swinburne’s researchers examining how people experiencing chronic lower back pain interact with VR in Swinburne’s state-of-the-art Virtual Reality Theatre.

Community support

Swinburne’s staff, students and the broader community have benefited from initiatives from the partnership. 

Highlights include support for Swinburne’s H. Squad, a peer-to-peer health promotion group run by Swinburne students. H-Squad’s achievements include supporting engagement on topics such as sleep and mental health, a podcast series and collaboration with Medibank clinicians to inform health and wellness webinars for international students.   

In addition, as part of the partnership, Swinburne students have completed short-term internships as well as one-year placements with some students already securing full-time positions at Medibank.

Through the Swinburne Student Emergency Fund, Medibank also provides support to students who have experienced financial hardship as a result of the pandemic. 

Medibank has also hosted international student business visits, held on campus activations, supported projects with Film and Television students and co-designed and co-delivered the Managing Workplace Diversity and Inclusion unit as part of the Master of Human Resources Management.