This is another step towards building Parramatta into a world class knowledge hub – broadening opportunities for lifelong learning.
University cities are dynamic and youthful environments that draw students into their centre – like Boston a university city with close links to the prestigious Harvard University, University of Massachusetts and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
UWS joins the University of New England (UNE) and TAFE in establishing its own campus in Parramatta CBD. Each institution offers a complementary but different delivery model.
UNE’s FutureCampus in Church Street leverages technology to deliver learning ‘to anyone, anytime, anywhere’ with a reported 80% of their students living in GWS while TAFE offers training and support services tailored to individual company needs, often in the workplace.
Alternatively, UWS is expected to provide undergraduate and postgraduate teaching facilities in the heart of Parramatta.
Geographically, Parramatta’s CBD is well positioned to service the 640,000 who work in Western Sydney and predicted population growth of one million people over the next 25 years.
For students, Parramatta offers the convenience of public transport with the busiest bus-rail interchange outside Sydney’s CBD. For many post-graduate students, Parramatta is ideally located between their work and home.
UWS’s new campus has the potential to drive economic and social benefits to our city as well as being easily accessible for students.
The need for more teaching, research and administration space will drive demand in the commercial market and stimulate new office construction. Spin-off economic benefits will energise firms that service and co-locate with universities.
The buying power of students and employees working and studying in the CBD will drive a lifestyle economy and deliver social benefits.
Increased student and staff populations will energise Parramatta’s retail, food and entertainment venues. Students bring vibrancy to the mix of office workers and families in any city.
Students who study in Parramatta are more likely to stay in Parramatta - helping redress the brain-drain as graduates seek employment in Sydney CBD at the expense of local firms.
Parramatta legal and accounting businesses often lament the difficulty in attracting new graduates who are enticed by Sydney city employers only to face long commute times. Parramatta offers Western Sydney residents the opportunity for a sustainable work-life balance.
University cities open up greater opportunities. They led to increased engagement between the universities and the business community and they enable the intellectual horse-power of academia to be better harnessed to drive business innovation.
The business community and universities ought to work seamlessly as partners to deliver students with industry-ready skills and knowledge. This can be achieved by working closely with industry, through an industry informed curriculum and having industry-relevant academics.
Industry must provide the opportunity for authentic ‘real-life’ learning environments by hosting students as an integral part of their studies.
Universities have a significant depth of academic knowledge and research capabilities. In contrast, businesses can find it difficult to afford quality research and development to drive innovation. The ‘holy-grail’ is to match these sectors together to drive innovation and business growth.
It is widely acknowledged that this alignment is desirable and there remains significant opportunity for further collaboration between academia and industry to drive commercial enterprise.
As Boston is to New York, Parramatta can be to Sydney. Not competing, but complementary powerhouses of economic development with their own competitive strengths.
I look forward to seeing UWS open its campus in the CBD, as another step in driving significant socio-economic benefits in Parramatta.
This is one more piece in the global-city puzzle that makes Parramatta the “Capital of Western of Sydney”.
