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USC receives $24m for regional expansion
The University of the Sunshine Coast today secured the largest single funding boost to its development since it opened in 1996 by winning a $24 million Commonwealth Government competitive grant.
The grant was announced by Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Federal Minister for Tertiary Education Senator Chris Evans under the Government’s Structural Adjustment Fund, introduced this year to enable fairer competition between universities in a deregulated higher education environment from 2012.
It will go towards a $33 million Collaborative Futures Project, involving the University, the Sunshine Coast Institute of TAFE (SCIT) and the Wide Bay Institute of TAFE (WBIT).
The bulk of this money will fund construction of two new buildings – one valued at $24 million at USC’s Sippy Downs campus and the other valued at $4 million at the WBIT’s campus in Gympie.
This construction work will provide a shot in the arm for the regional economy and give USC the facilities it needs to continue its planned expansion.
The buildings will be shared by the University and the TAFE institutes, with rooms also available for community groups like the University of the Third Age and The Smith Family, which supports the educational endeavours of disadvantaged students.
USC’s Vice-Chancellor Professor Greg Hill said the funding would help the University deal with the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.
“I’m relieved because USC won’t face any restrictions on growth because of a lack of infrastructure or a lack of access to a broader regional community,” he said.
“The project will allow us to broaden our footprint and to fulfil our community obligations of engaging with students from disadvantaged backgrounds and, in so doing, contribute to Commonwealth targets.”
Professor Hill said the collaboration with SCIT and WBIT would have an initial focus on nursing and other health disciplines, along with special bridging programs like USC’s popular Tertiary Preparation Pathway program.
“As part of the collaboration, we will have nursing students from the TAFE sector working alongside registered nurses in a simulation learning laboratory that has state-of-the-art technology,” he said.
“Our Nursing academics will be able to enact and re-enact scenarios, record lectures and share them with people who are remote from the university. So students in Gympie will be able to view this rich learning material from Sippy Downs.”
Professor Hill said the $24 million building at Sippy Downs was also likely to house USC’s Student Services, the Buranga Centre for Indigenous students, a student commons area, the Tertiary Preparation Pathway program and staff offices.
— Terry Walsh