Future Gold Coast: The real centre of the Gold Coast’s future

It is one of a new-generation city at the cutting edge of global education and enterprise. But how will the Gold Coast define the future?

THE Gold Coast’s future will be built upon realising a special vision. It is one of a new-generation city at the cutting edge of global education and enterprise. It is, quite simply, a unique opportunity to define the future.

In like fashion, the location of our Gold Coast campus — right at the Gold Coast Airport and just a short walk from the terminal — is unique in the world. What we are doing in collaboration with the airport makes it possible for everyone to benefit, right now, from the innovations we will see in ten year’s time in Badgerys Creek Creek, at the new Western Sydney International Airport. The advantage is that is right here, right now — and in the Gold Coast.

At the same time, the old economy is changing. In many sectors, it has already changed dramatically. There is no doubt that Higher Education is one of the vanguard industries of the century in that regard.

Think of environmental scientists who use drones to gather samples from the top canopy of rainforest trees. Imagine the potential of personalised biomedicine.

FUTURE GOLD COAST: HIGH-RISE AND BOUTIQUE SCHOOLS IN GOLD COAST’S FUTURE

Southern Cross University Vice Chancellor Professor Adam Shoemaker

Of wellness and naturopathy. Of IVF approaches to restoring the Great Barrier Reef. Of digital design for healthy ageing.

All of these are areas in which Australian university researchers lead the world. And all of these are fields in which my colleagues excel.

The demand for new professional and digital skills permeates every industry. It is something we are very aware of at Southern Cross University as we prepare people for the careers of today and tomorrow. We are so conscious of the fact that the Gold Coast must meet and exceed its history as a wonderful mecca for tourism and entertainment, reaching into all of the new career areas which are being invented at a rate of knots.

Health Sciences is the big driver of this growth as the demands of the health workforce expand employment options everywhere on the Coast. Nursing, midwifery, osteopathy, occupational therapy, exercise science, psychology, social work, social welfare, podiatry and pedorthics are all excellent career pathways as opportunities grow. The career employment figures for all of these areas are burgeoning, alongside the demands of the National Disability Insurance Scheme and exploding healthcare requirements, from Coomera to Coolangatta and beyond.

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At the same time, the digital and data science approaches now associated with all fields of health are emerging as industries in their own right and Southern Cross is evolving its courses to reflect this reality.

What is the result? From a single building which opened in 2010, we now welcome more than 6,000 students to our Gold Coast campus, from more than 31 countries and from every state and territory of Australia. Again uniquely, ours is the only ‘vertical campus’ in the Gold Coast — a new way of designing tertiary education in a high-rise location and spirit.

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Southern Cross University Vice Chancellor Professor Adam Shoemaker

But it is vitally important that we balance this passion for contemporary excellence with an empathy and care for our community, be it in our backyard, our frontyard or across the world.

For example, the Southern Cross law degree is renowned for its emphasis on social justice in the curriculum, along with the very best of legal studies. Recently, one of our legal academics was invited to the United Nations to convene a special session on the rights of mother Earth. This is particularly poignant when we see the Amazon on fire as never before and the most severe hurricanes in a generation off the coast of the United States.

At Southern Cross University we love our location, poised between the ocean beaches of Kirra and the hinterland and in an area of profound significance to local indigenous peoples.

We are growing with the city and for the city.

And we believe that Higher Education linked with ‘Destination: Gold Coast’ is undoubtedly the most exciting of future possibilities ….