An artist’s impression of the University of Melbourne’s new Fishermans Bend campus (Image credit: The Age)
The University of Melbourne is building a new campus in Fishermans Bend as part of an ambitious A$1 billion plan to create a world-class engineering school in Victoria.
The university’s 2025 Engineering Strategy plan also includes upgrading the engineering facilities at its main Parkville campus site and developing the former Royal Women’s Hospital site. The plan is expected to provide an A$8 billion boost to Victoria’s economy and generate over 15,000 new jobs by 2035.
University of Melbourne’s new campus a catalyst to innovation
The new campus — the institution’s eighth, to date — is located within Australia’s largest urban renewal project, right in the heart of Melbourne. Construction begins this year and it is expected to be ready in the early 2020s.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Glyn Davis said: “The university will be a catalyst for new collaborations and investments, connecting industry and research in the precinct.
“We have a proud history of innovation in this country. The new campus will give our researchers and students opportunities to work alongside industry, and pursue rich careers right here in Australia.
“When surrounded by start-up accelerators, business incubators, cutting-edge research, development and manufacturing facilities, and test sites, our students can immediately put ideas into action,” he said.
The move to Fishermans Bend will expand the University of Melbourne’s capabilities to undertake large-scale research and innovation, such as autonomous vehicles and smart grid technologies, with the inclusion of on-site facilities such as wind and water tunnels.
University of Melbourne School of Engineering Dean, Professor Iven Mareels said that the new campus would help to create entrepreneurial leaders and transformative technologies of the future.
“The Fishermans Bend campus will initially enable 1,000 engineering and IT students and academics to collaborate with world-leading local and international companies across industrial sectors as diverse as transport, energy, food, mining, infrastructure and water,” he said.
Fishermans Bend is Australia’s largest urban renewal project covering 485 hectares in the heart of Melbourne. It will consist of five precincts across two municipalities – the City of Melbourne and the City of Port Phillip – and connect Melbourne’s CBD to the bay. By 2050, the area is expected to provide housing for up to 80,000 people, and employment for 40,000.
The population growth rate of Melbourne has increased to 2.4%, which means 110,000 people are moving to the city every year. Vacancy rates in Melbourne continue to fall due to the severe undersupply of housing. New-build apartments like the upcoming Palladium Tower in Southbank, are being constructed to address the lack of housing, which is less than 5km away from the new campus, and can be reached by bike in less than 20 mins!
Nearer still, and just 5 mins away by bike from Palladium Tower is the University of Melbourne’s Southbank campus, which is also undergoing a A$200 million transformation. This transformation, expected to be ready by 2020, will see the Conservatorium staff and students co-located with their colleagues and peers at the Victorian College of the Arts at the heart of the Melbourne Arts Precinct.
Palladium Tower has a walk score of a near perfect 98/100, which reflects how easy it is to get around without a car. With a self-contained Woolworths supermarket, and the Crown Casino & Entertainment Complex, Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre, Melbourne Arts Precinct and the Royal Botanical Gardens all within walking distance, Palladium Tower is strategically located at the nexus of all the city has to offer.
Keen to find out more about Palladium Tower or other projects in Melbourne? Give us a call at 03-2162 2260 or 016-221 8691/9150. Feel free to share and comment on this article!
By Ian Choong
Sources:
- https://www.alumni.unimelb.edu.au/university-announces-new-engineering-campus
- https://www.smh.com.au/national/victoria/students-set-to-take-the-bus-to-melbourne-unis-1b-future-of-engineering-20171221-h08ihg.html
- http://finearts-music.unimelb.edu.au/about/campus/southbank-campus-development
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