$95 million City West student learning centre wins support to build SA's workforce capacity
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Expanding its commitment to Adelaide as an education city and the provision of high quality facilities supporting engaged student learning, UniSA has secured $30 million from the Federal Government’s Education Investment Fund for a new $95 million learning centre, serving more than 15,000 students in the heart of Adelaide’s West End.
The project planned at UniSA’s City West campus will be a state-of-the-art, seven-storey, Five Green Star-rated building designed to improve student learning experiences and services and will have the capacity to accommodate a further 1,800 students in the CBD.
Students from a wide range of degree programs will benefit from the new facility and the project will support the University’s plans to increase student participation levels in line with the Federal Government’s targets.
UniSA Vice Chancellor Professor Peter Høj says the new building represents a confident investment in the future intellectual capital of the state and in UniSA as a significant contributor to enhancing student participation in higher education.
“Following the announcement of $40M in support for our high-tech $73M Minerals and Materials initiative at Mawson Lakes,
http://www.sensational-adelaide.com/for ... f=8&t=3053, this Federal funding is yet another vote of confidence in UniSA and in our goal to take a leading role in the development of Australia’s higher education system as one of the best in the world,” he said.
The Centre will support an increase in student numbers at City West in areas of key economic and cultural growth – allied health and health sciences, business and the arts and creative industries – underpinning growth in the state’s talent pool.
“Over the past 12 years the construction of the City West campus, including the recently completed Hawke and Dorrit Black buildings and the multi award-winning Kaurna Building, has revitalised the West End of the city and consolidated an education and research focus in the heart of the city,” Prof Høj says.
“The new Centre will augment and complement other developments already forecast in the precinct and sustain valuable synergies for students and researchers with important projects such as the new federally funded $200M South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute and the proposed new Royal Adelaide Hospital.
“Our vision for the future of Adelaide as an education city is to build the kind of critical mass that influences the feel of the city.
“It is about having excellent facilities that heighten awareness, aspiration and achievement in higher education in an environment that promotes creativity and engagement.”
The new seven-storey Centre will provide teaching and learning space with a special focus on a technology-rich environment and flexible learning spaces that enhance experiential learning.
The new Centre will also include a significant expansion of the University’s City West Library.
“We want to give UniSA students a study environment that genuinely prepares them for the working world now and into the future and to continue to provide excellent graduates to underpin the expansion and development of the South Australian economy,” he said.
Backgrounder
The new $95 million building will be funded by UniSA and the Federal Government.
Current planning is for the new experiential learning centre to include facilities for the education of allied health professionals in fields such as physiotherapy, occupational therapy and psychology providing a multidisciplinary learning environment which simulates health care delivery needs in the community and settings other than hospitals.
The project will also include a range of public health clinics in areas such as psychology that are currently at the University’s city east campus.
The centre will include an expanded library.
The new building will be an integrated space combining smart learning spaces, learning resources and student support. It will be accessed by over 15,000 current students.
The new building will increase retention, and enable growth in areas such as:
o Allied Health - Pharmacy, Medical Sciences, Podiatry, Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Dietetics, Nutrition and a range of associate degree pathways
o Business
o Creative Industries and Environment
The combination of growth and increased retention is expected to result in more than 1,800 additional students.