Western Sydney University open day to officially launch its name change from UWS

SPORTING a new name that puts its location first, the Western Sydney University (WSU) swings its doors open with cricketing great Steve Waugh inspiring prospective students at the Parramatta campus today.

Cricket legend Steve Waugh was in Cairns to receive a $50,000 donation from the winner of the XVenture reality television series.

SPORTING a new name that puts its location first, the Western Sydney University (WSU) swings its doors open with cricketing great Steve Waugh inspiring prospective students at the Parramatta campus today.

Joining Waugh will be The Projects’ Waleed Aly, sailing heroine Jessica Watson, polar explorers Justin Jones and James Castrission and local girl and star of Australian Idol Paulini.

Formerly the University of Western Sydney, the name change marks the university’s commitment to the people of Western Sydney according to the University Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Barney Glover.

“Over the next 25 years Western Sydney will account for 60 per cent of Sydney's population growth and 25 per cent of Australia's, so now is a good time to re-evaluate how we talk about the University and an opportunity to reinforce our leadership role within the region,” Prof Glover said.

WSU has more than 40,000 students and 3,000 staff across nine campuses, but by far the most impressive statistics is that 60 per cent of the domestic students at WSU are the first in their family to ever attend university.

Now named one of the world’s best 100 universities under the age of 50, Prof Glover said this year’s Open Day will encourage more Western Sydney students to make the leap into tertiary education.

"Western Sydney University is about providing unlimited opportunities for our students and acknowledging our deep commitment to the Western Sydney region — one of the most important and most dynamic areas in the country,” Prof Glover said.

From University of Western Sydney to Western Sydney University.

More than 75 per cent of domestic students are from Western Sydney.

Glenn Gore, Head of Technology at Amazon Web Services will treat would-be IT geeks through interactive demonstrations of how the cloud-based voice recognition device “Amazon Echo” works and can help with studies.

Interactive sessions today will include a showcase of current student works, games with Baxter, the human-sized robot, and a virtual reality fly-through demonstration with Wonderama.

Would-be medical students can learn how a plaster cast is applied and budding law students can participate in a mock-trial with current law students.

A petting zoo will be on hand for the little ones.

“We look forward to welcoming as many people as possible to our Parramatta campus on August 30 and showcasing everything we have to offer — innovative teaching and research that is unlocking the potential of Australia’s future leaders, as well as our strong partnerships with business and the broader community,” Prof Glover said.

On the back of the rebranding Olympian and student Jana Pittman, the GWS Giants, Paul Gallen, Smallzy, Mark Geyer, Nathan Bracken and Anita Heiss lent their support to the #NewWS social media campaign.

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