Student Edge is an Australian student advocacy service, founded in 2003 in

Perth, Western Australia Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

by university students. The organisation currently has approximately 1,100,000 members.

History

Founding

Student Edge claims to offer Australians participating in

secondary Secondary may refer to: Science and nature * Secondary emission, of particles ** Secondary electrons, electrons generated as ionization products * The secondary winding, or the electrical or electronic circuit connected to the secondary winding i ...

tertiary education Tertiary education, also referred to as third-level, third-stage or post-secondary education, is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank, for example, defines tertiary education as including univers ...

and

apprenticeship Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a Tradesman, trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners ...

s/traineeships to register for Student Edge membership and take advantage of discounts, free job and internship search boards, career tips and well-being services. While it began with a $20 subscription cost as its initial business model, the model was upturned in 2006/2007, making the membership, as well as access to its exclusive deals and competitions, free. The company now relies on advertising and sponsorship for its revenue. Following this move, its membership flourished with major brands such as

Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...

Boost Juice Boost Juice Bars is an Australian multinational retail outlet owned by parent company Retail Zoo that specialise in fruit juice and smoothies. Boost Juice Bars was formed in 2000 with the first store located in Adelaide, South Australia The c ...

and

Bankwest Bankwest is an Australian full-service bank based in Perth, Western Australia. It was sold in October 2008 to the Commonwealth Bank of Australia for 2.1 billion and operates as a division of its parent company. Bankwest previously had branch ...

- along with numerous Government agencies - coming on board to sponsor the company. The rise in popularity led to the company's national launch in August 2010.

National Launch

On 27 August 2010, following a celebration at the

State library of Western Australia The State Library of Western Australia is a research, education, reference and public lending library located in the Perth Cultural Centre in Perth, Western Australia. It is a portfolio agency of the Western Australia Department of Culture and t ...

, the company opened its membership to students across Australia. This roll-out increased the number of affiliated major brands, as well as the overall membership offering. By the end of 2011, Student Edge had 500,000 cardholders, making it the largest student member benefits organisation in the country and as of 2018, the company has more than 1,000,000 members nationwide.

Collaborations With Schools

Student Edge's outreach team makes more than 100 visits to schools per year, educating students on social media responsibility and offering career tips. In 2014, Student Edge launched their annual Teacher of the Year competition, awarding NSW's

Sefton High School Sefton High School is a government-funded co-educational dual modality partially academically selective and comprehensive secondary day school, located in Sefton, a suburb in western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established in 1962, ...

history teacher Thomas Elley the inaugural prize.

YouthInsight

On 23 May, Student Edge's full-service market research arm YouthInsight unveiled Australia's inaugural Top 100 Youth Brands report at the Youth Marketing Australia conference in Melbourne. Based on a survey of more than 2,000 young people,

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

was named the #1 brand among Australian youths. YouTube was also #1 in the Social Media and Apps category. Other category winners included

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

(Entertainment),

Google Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...

(Digital and Technology),

Commonwealth Bank The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), or CommBank, is an Australian multinational bank with businesses across New Zealand, Asia, the United States and the United Kingdom. It provides a variety of financial services including retail, busines ...

(Finance),

McDonald’s McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hamburger st ...

(Fast Food & Restaurants),

Dove (toiletries) Dove is a brand owned by the multinational consumer goods company Unilever. Dove products are manufactured in countries around the world. The products are sold in more than 150 countries and are offered for both women, men, and babies. Dove's ...

(Health & Beauty) and

Woolworths Supermarkets Woolworths Supermarkets (colloquially known in Australia as "Woolies") is an Australian chain of supermarkets and grocery stores owned by Woolworths Group. Founded in 1924, Woolworths today is Australia's biggest supermarket chain with a mar ...

(Retail & Online Retail).

References

External links

{{Official website, https://www.studentedge.org Youth empowerment organizations Student organisations in Australia