A new kind of scholarship.

Scholarship applications are complicated. They require lengthy forms, essays, lists of academic achievements and professional references. As an online university that champions making education more accessible, Swinburne Online sought to create a scholarship that focussed on the important stuff, without the fluff.

Inspired by legend

Based on Ernest Hemingway’s famous six-word story: “For sale: baby shoes, never worn”, Swinburne Online took applications for a communications scholarship directly in the comments on social media. Every original story that adhered to the six-word limit was considered a successful application. Thousands of stories were submitted, one winner was selected, and the free scholarship resulted in a 100% increase in paid enrolments for the course.

+100%

increase in enrolments

+223%

increase in web traffic

80x

average social engagement

8.6x

average campaign reach