Last year, Federation University Australia launched our first Campus Vision to inform campus master planning, consultation and feedback.
Thank you to all of our stakeholders who have provided their feedback and engaged in community consultation. Your contributions have been invaluable to the evolution of our vision.
Federation University Australia’s Campus Vision 2023–2030 sets out the future vision for our campuses, aligning Federation’s physical campus environments with our bold vision to become Australia’s leading regional university.
The vision seeks to ensure we make the best possible use of our real estate assets, work co-operatively with our industry and community stakeholders, provide flexibility for future needs, reduce our environmental footprint – and most importantly, provide a sense of community and belonging for our students, who are the life of our campuses.
Our campuses lie at the heart of our partnership with regional communities, providing the foundation for where our staff and students come together, through education and opportunities to socialise.
The campus vision is a plan to build new and better campuses to allow us to embrace new and innovative forms of education, in cooperation with industry and employers, offering programs and courses to drive economic growth and future jobs in our regions.
It’s a plan to use new technologies to connect classrooms, people and communities in new and productive ways – and create precincts that can deliver local benefits and community facilities, attract new industry to invest and encourage more people to live and work in regional Victoria.
Informed by our Strategic Plan 2021–2025, Campus Vision 2022–2025 and Towards Net Zero 2033, our Campus Vision 2023–2030 outlines the next stage in achieving these goals.
The master planning process has been completed and this plan, Campus Vision 2023-2030, reflects the measures in the masterplans.
The next steps to bring the projects and initiatives within the vision to life will be the development of business cases to be delivered over project phases, with short- and long-term priorities identified, and opportunities for government and industry partnerships identified for further exploration.
Federation University has identified objectives that are to be translated into our physical spaces as part of the campus vision. The campus vision consultation has also identified several ‘big ticket themes’. Through further stakeholder consultation, these objectives and themes have been distilled into five goals:
The Campus Vision maps out priority projects in each campus region and key areas of focus by looking at campuses as cities, as vibrant spaces that are deeply connected and engaged with the surrounding community and industry.
Ballarat, Mt Helen Campus – Delivering practical student experiences and better community services. Mt Helen offers a unique opportunity to intensify industry investment in the campus and create practical learning experiences for our students with increased workplace learning opportunities, due to the sprawling size of the campus and connection to Ballarat Technology Park.
Ballarat, SMB Campus – A learning and innovation precinct in the heart of the city. SMB offers the opportunity to develop Ballarat as a University Town, through consolidation of teaching and learning into a new Skills and Innovation Precinct at the SMB Campus, allowing Federation to give back prime real estate currently occupied by the Camp Street Campus in the city centre to the Ballarat community to reimagine and enjoy.
Wimmera Campus – Driving jobs, Indigenous reconciliation and environmental sustainability. With a central focus on Indigenous reconciliation and sustainability, the campus will become a vibrant hub for engagement, research, vocational and higher education activity. The Ararat Jobs and Technology Precinct will be developed as a research hub for agribusiness and advanced manufacturing.
Berwick Campus – Supporting education and jobs in a growing multicultural community. The campus is situated in the City of Casey’s recently rezoned Health and Education Precinct, which also includes St John of God Hospital, Monash Health Casey Hospital, Chisholm Institute, Casey Tech School and local secondary schools. This provides opportunities for increased industry partnerships, work integrated learning for our students and growth of our program offerings in health and social services, education, manufacturing and construction, retail and professional services.
Gippsland Campus – Vision: To become Gippsland’s university. Our vision provides the platform for Federation to support Gippsland as it transforms and evolves into a high-skill, value-add-based economy. We plan to concentrate more of our activity into key population areas, bringing the classroom to the community and forging new ways of learning. We will do this by putting teaching spaces in community buildings in major town centres to make it easier for people to access education and training opportunities, focusing on areas where there is a demand for skilled workers such as health care. We have begun making this a reality in Traralgon, with development of a new wellness centre at the Gippsland Regional Aquatic Centre.
We encourage you to take a closer look at the Campus Vision 2023-2030 for more detailed information on priority projects for each campus and maps.
The campus vision presents a model for what a modern university can and should be: a strong, sustainable and thriving university that will transform lives and enhance communities for generations to come.
For further information contact Property and Infrastructure.
