Page 1323 - Week 05 - Tuesday, 5 May 2015
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The expansion of the University of Canberra’s campus supports the university’s continued growth in student numbers. In 2014, the University of Canberra’s equivalent full-time student load was 11,697. This represents an 18.4 per cent growth in student load since 2010. To provide for this growth, the University of Canberra built a total of 660 new student beds in 2014, which saw the university offer an accommodation guarantee to all first year and international students, which of course gives peace of mind to those students and to their parents and carers.
The university has continued to be an active player in the economic and social wellbeing of our local community, with the opening of new facilities such as the $15 million health hub providing further local health services, including Canberra’s first GP super clinic and the university’s popular student-delivered allied health clinics that deliver a range of services such as physiotherapy and dietetics. The new University of Canberra public hospital will add significantly to the wellbeing of the ACT. This facility and the health hub will form part of a larger health innovation precinct that will include the public hospital, which is of course a significant partnership with the territory government.
Madam Assistant Speaker, I had the pleasure of opening the university’s new $16 million state-of-the-art sporting commons facility, which is of course headquarters for the Brumbies and the training base for the University of Canberra Capitals. It also houses a range of research facilities and gymnasium space, including the newly established University of Canberra Research Institute for Sport and Exercise. This facility builds upon the University of Canberra’s reputation as one of Australia’s leading tertiary institutions for sport and related studies. This again contributes to the university’s growth and its capacity to attract students to the ACT.
Chancellor Professor Tom Calma AO was formally installed following his address at the National Press Club on 20 February 2014. The 2013 ACT Australian of the Year became the sixth chancellor of the University of Canberra and the first Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander man to hold the position of chancellor of any Australian university. 2014 also saw the University of Canberra retain its world ranking for the second consecutive year in the QS world university rankings.
The University of Canberra was named an employer of choice for gender equality in November, recognising its commitment to gender equity in the workplace. The university was one of only 76 organisations in Australia to receive this prestigious citation and one of only two in the ACT.
In research, 2014 was perhaps the best year yet for the University of Canberra, with recruitment of some of the world’s best researchers and academics, attracting significant grants, and with the university demonstrating improved performance and developing new partnerships. The annual report shows competitive research income increased by more than $1 million, from $3.365 million in 2012 to $4,467 million in 2013, which the latest data available. Research output was up by 27 per cent.
The government and I, as Chief Minister and minister with responsibility for higher education and economic development, look forward to continuing to work with this
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