University of Canberra campus to open in Castle Hill
The University of Canberra has announced it is opening a new campus in the Hills with degrees on offer to include a Bachelor of Nursing.
Hills Shire
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The Hills will soon get its first university campus.
The University of Canberra will be opening a Hills campus at the old Castle Hill Day Surgery after it was approved by a local planning panel.
The two-storey building which was bought by Council in 2016 will be converted into the new campus which is set to open next year.
Degrees on offer at the campus will include a Bachelor of Nursing and a new Graduate Entry Master of Nursing.
A University of Canberra spokeswoman said there will be up to 400 students at the site which will feature several new classrooms, labs, student break out areas, tea rooms and student support services.
“The campus site is well suited for development as a bespoke higher education campus to deliver health courses with state-of-the-art facilities including clinical and nursing simulation equipment and specially designed laboratory spaces,” the university’s pro vice-chancellor Lawrence Pratchett said.
Mr Pratchett said the creation of the Hills campus in partnership with the Education Centre of Australia was a “cost-effective” entry strategy for the university to expand its presence in Sydney.
“We know there is high demand for health courses, particularly in this locale and internationally, so the establishment of the campus has received strong support from local community groups and council,” he said.
Hills mayor Michelle Byrne said she was “very excited” about the Hills having its own university.
“This is the first time we have had the physical presence of a university in the Hills,” she said.
“We’ve had childcare, primary schools…but for a long time the university sector was the only missing puzzle in the Hills.”
Cr Byrne said the university would encourage more students in the booming Castle Hill precinct which will be a welcome boost to the local economy.
“I think it is good news for local businesses, cafes, and Castle Towers,” she said.
“The area has been overlooked so universities didn’t come to the Hills yet the population is booming. We’ve got the metro so it makes sense.”
Cr Byrne said it was great that nursing students at the campus will have the opportunity to have clinical placements and job opportunities at nearby hospitals including the new Rouse Hill Hospital.
“It excites me because I love education and for so long I wanted to bring a university in the Hills,” Cr Byrne said.
Construction has begun on the site and is due to be completed in the second half of the year in time for semester 1 2022.
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