After 50 years in the capital, UNSW Canberra has expressed an interest in expanding its role, with a possible major new campus for up to 10,000 students to be established in Canberra. 

A Memorandum of Understanding will be developed between the ACT Government and the University of New South Wales Canberra to guide discussions.

ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr described the move as “very exciting” with “enormous potential”.

“The recent addition of UNSW Canberra engineering degrees to courses available in Canberra filled a gap in our higher education offerings and this further expansion is an opportunity to do more of the same - taking higher education in the city to the next level. Growing the higher education sector is a fundamental part of our plan to diversify the territory economy and create new jobs,” said Mr Barr.

UNSW Canberra Rector Michael Frater agrees that education and research are important sectors for Canberra and the city needs to innovate to remain competitive globally. 

“The University of New South Wales is committed to working with the ACT government in exploring exciting new opportunities to expand teaching, research and collaborative industry activities in Canberra; helping the territory build its reputation as a global leader in education and supporting economic growth and diversification in the region,” Professor Frater said.

The proposed new campus would include student accommodation, research and teaching facilities, as part of a new city east education precinct. The UNSW Canberra campus development would sit alongside the Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT) Reid campus.

The city east precinct currently has undeveloped government land that has been earmarked for release in the near future. The use of this site as an expanded education precinct fits with the government’s strategy to revitalise Constitution Avenue and better connect the city to the lake.

Canberra is already home to top ranking universities and research institutions including the Australian National University, the University of Canberra, UNSW Canberra at the Australian Defence Force Academy, the Australian Catholic University, Charles Sturt University, Data61, CSIRO and Geoscience Australia.

Mr Barr said there was enormous potential for an expanded UNSW Canberra to collaborate with these institutions, “boosting our city’s research capability and attracting more students. The higher education sector is an extremely important contributor to our economy:  $2.7 billion annually and delivering around 16,000 jobs.”

The Government intends to finalise the MoU with UNSW Canberra by the end of 2017, with more detailed planning and community engagement on project specifics to occur throughout 2018.