By Bonny Burrows
With a new campus and a new leader, Federation University (FedUni) has big plans for its Berwick campus, come 2018.
The university, which this year shares Monash University’s Clyde Road campus, will formally take over the site next year.
Federation University’s first female Vice-Chancellor, Helen Bartlett, is overseeing the university during its transition period, and said the procurement of the Berwick campus made sense for the university’s vision.
“This campus was a very obvious and sensible acquisition for the university, that’s really trying to build its presence in this eastern corridor,” Professor Bartlett said.
“As you know, the area’s expanding so rapidly, and the vision for FedUni here is to meet the needs of this growing community.”
The move from Monash to FedUni would be seamless, according to the vice-chancellor, but would result in big changes for the better.
Professor Bartlett, who has worked for both universities, said while Monash was “very focused on the school leaver and the high ATAR”, FedUni hoped to make local tertiary study accessible to all.
“FedUni is very different. It’s looking much more at learning across the lifespan,” Professor Bartlett said.
The hope is to appeal to the area’s large migrant population, as well as mature aged students looking to re or upskill.
Courses offered include nursing, business, information technology and veterinary, but will expand “with the needs of the community”.
The university also wants to expand its delivery modes into multiple formats.
A video that recently went viral of a lecturer on his first day facing an empty classroom was a “clear example” that times had changed, according to Professor Bartlett.
She said today’s students expected greater flexibility.
“Students now need to engage, they need to do real work, to build team skills, need to do a lot more individual learning as opposed to just getting content regurgitated in the classroom,” Professor Bartlett said.
“So I think that picture signalled to me something from the past and a transition and that’s another area of focus for FedUni – that blended learning.
“We’re not quite there yet, but we’re moving towards a future possibility where students can select what they want to do, where they want to do it, any time and in any mode.
“That is, I think, a very urgent gap for a university like ours to fill, trying to build capability. I think we’re still moving to that greater flexibility of offerings.”
While the university is still finding its place within the Casey Cardinia community, Professor Bartlett said it would soon become a local leader.
“FedUni has a lot of experience and talent in terms of community engagement – that’s a really great strength,” Professor Bartlett said.
“It very much embeds itself in the communities it operates. And I think we can see already that there’s been quite a good response here to FedUni, and as it gets more established and engage more widely the community, I think you will see the activities here really become about supporting that community, helping it to grow.
“So I think that in a nutshell is where I see FedUni, it’s the start of the journey but it’s a very exciting one, not just for FedUni but the local community.”
