It is my pleasure, as the eighth Vice-Chancellor of Flinders University, to welcome you to the May edition of e.NCOUNTER.
As I commenced my term at Flinders University in January I was immensely grateful for the warm welcome I received. Over the coming months, I look forward to connecting with the Flinders alumni community and hope to meet with many of you personally.
Flinders University has over 80,000 alumni located worldwide representing a vast network of skills and talent. Flinders is committed to deepening our engagement with you in the future by offering more ways for you to remain connected to the University. This includes developing more benefits available to you as a member of the Flinders alumni community and taking the opportunity to gain your feedback about the direction that Flinders is taking in the future.
In my email to you earlier this year, I asked you to join with us in celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Flinders University in 2016 and I encourage you to visit the 50th Anniversary web pages to find out how you can get involved in a variety of interesting and engaging events and activities throughout 2016.
You are a key part of the University’s past, present and future and I therefore wish to share with you some of the exciting developments underway at Flinders.
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Flinders has always held a strong commitment to students, both academically and socially. Our courses have constantly evolved to match the needs of an ever-changing world, and now our facilities are evolving to suit our vibrant community.
Recent enrolment data shows that Flinders is South Australia’s fastest growing university, and our Flinders Future Focus initiative is underway to create a new face for the University as it grows. The largest investment program Flinders University has undertaken since it opened in 1966, Flinders Future Focus, will deliver four major infrastructure projects and a series of major upgrades, the centrepiece of which will be our New Plaza and Student Hub. On track for completion by Semester 1, 2016, this major development will create a new heart for the University’s Bedford Park campus.
With a focus on student interaction, engagement, services and community events, the new Plaza will be a vibrant place in which to learn, connect and socialise. Designed on sustainable principles by award-winning global architects Woods Bagot, the redevelopment will include: a terraced amphitheatre for outdoor events, a rooftop terrace, a new food court, a range of new study spaces and student facilities, a new campus bar with stunning views, new Student Association facilities, and a centralised location for easy access to student services. The new Student Hub will be complemented by free, secure and reliable access to Flinders’ super-fast wi-fi network.
Flinders’ new flagship building at Tonsley also marks an exciting new era, both for the University and for South Australia. Flinders at Tonsley is now home to our School of Computer Science, Engineering and Mathematics, the Flinders Medical Device Research Institute and the Centre for Nanoscale Science and Technology – alongside some of Adelaide’s biggest businesses and industries.
Housing more than 150 staff and 2,000 students, Flinders at Tonsley promotes collaboration – creating an environment where students and researchers can interact with businesses in areas such as engineering, medical devices and nanoscale technologies. Flinders at Tonsley will also be an engine room of ideas, innovation, entrepreneurship and business engagement through the New Venture Institute and Flinders Partners.
Located between Flinders’ Bedford Park campus and Adelaide city, with access to the precinct’s shops, cafes, facilities and services, Flinders at Tonsley will focus on the delivery of high impact solutions to real-world problems that will improve lives and build businesses in SA’s community.
And finally, as we approach our 50th anniversary in 2016, it is important that we recognise and celebrate past success, but we must also look forward by articulating our ambitions for Flinders and building on our strengths for the future. As such, consultation will soon begin for development of Flinders’ next strategic plan, to be released later this year. Flinders continues to build a reputation as an innovative and forward thinking university and I look forward to finding new ways to build on our already substantial achievements.
Please ensure you connect with us so that we can continue to keep you updated on Flinders latest highlights, achievements and events, particularly as the 50th Anniversary series of events is distributed in coming months.
Vice-Chancellor
Flinders University