‘Young, motivated and hungry’: Liverpool’s bid to turn population into academic powerhouse

This western Sydney town wants to be ranked among the world’s most famous university cities. Here’s what its students say needs to happen to make the bold vision a reality.

Liverpool’s mayor wants his city to be renowned as a university city, but students living in the area say serious investments are needed by the unis and local government to realise the vision. Picture: Justin Lloyd

The mayor of Liverpool has a bold ambition to see his young, southwestern city ranked among the world’s most famous university cities, but students say they need more space to make that dream come true.

The Committee for Liverpool, led by mayor Ned Mannoun and Western Sydney Leadership Dialogue chairman Christopher Brown, are set on transforming the town centre into an innovation precinct with universities and medical research at the heart.

Liverpool is young, with a median age of 34 – five years younger than the state average – and 30 per cent of the population under the age of 25 at the last census.

Mr Brown said the city’s existing higher education offerings, including the two University of Wollongong and Western Sydney University campuses, had already seen a shift from sending Liverpool kids into the big city, to attracting those from other suburbs to Liverpool.

“In my lifetime that’s a remarkable turnaround, and it’s about to be turbocharged,” he said.

Liverpool mayor Ned Mannoun is spearheading the push for greater presence of universities – and more campuses – in the town’s CBD. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Nikki Short

Mr Mannoun said the pursuit of Liverpool’s status as an academic powerhouse is designed to keep the city’s “amazing talent” living and studying locally, in turn attracting big business to set up shop.

“We want to be a university city, like Cambridge or Oxford,” he said.

All Souls College in Oxford, England – one of the world’s most famous university cities.

“Generally speaking, people associate Western Sydney and southwest Sydney with low socioeconomics and migrants, when in reality you’ve got a young, motivated and hungry community that is very, very capable.

“The last decade was about Parramatta. This decade is going to be about Liverpool.”

However, local university students say the area needs bigger campuses and more green spaces to be as attractive as their inner Sydney equivalents.

UNSW student and Liverpool council worker Ceyda Nalbantoglu currently travels from Prestons to the uni’s bustling Randwick campus, but would prefer studying closer to home if she could enjoy the same social experience.

University students and Liverpool locals Aariya Luitel, Yuvraj Maharaj, Portia Yates and Ceyda Nalbantoglu want to see the region’s higher education offerings improve. Picture: Justin Lloyd

“There needs to be a lot more green space for students to have that uni lifestyle that you would get when you are at UNSW (in Randwick), for example, with the big lawns for student events held for example,” the advertising student said.

“We want to foster a live-work-study-play (culture) in Liverpool, and if we focus on that we will achieve a university city and retain students after they finish their education.”

Fellow UNSW student Yuvraj Maharaj and friends Portia Yates and Aariya Luitel, who are currently enrolled at Western Sydney University and the University of Wollongong respectively, all agreed on the need for more parks, recreation and culture.

“Currently all Liverpool universities are very small … and are inside a vertical building. It lacks outdoor recreation areas, restaurants, big libraries and study places, (and) parking),” Ms Luitel said.

Western Sydney University has the largest Liverpool campus of any uni, but is concentrated to one building. Picture: AAP Image/Matthew Vasilescu

The library at Western Sydney University’s campus in Liverpool.

Liverpool Innovation Precinct director Lance Chia said his vision for the city would emulate Boston’s Kendall Square, a district with one of the world’s highest concentrations of biotechnology, IT and start-ups – lured by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology campus – that has attracted US $14 billion in venture capital investment.

High rise towers rise in Kendall Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Picture: John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

Making it a reality, he said, will require “everyone to play a role”, from council to state government and private enterprise.

“Those cities didn’t appear like that overnight, and that won’t be the case for Liverpool either,” he said.

“We need to accelerate our work to make it more of a reality, including by developing the amenities and a night-time economy. That area absolutely has deficits, especially entertainment.

“We also need investment in public safety for Liverpool to realise its university city profile.”

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