One of our biggest regular events was held last weekend as we welcomed prospective students to our Bedford Park campus for Open Days.<\/p>\n
In a new first for the University, we also took Open Days to North Terrace on Sunday with a pop-up marquee in which we could promote the courses that will be available from 2024 in our exciting new Flinders City Campus at Festival Plaza.<\/p>\n
My most sincere thanks go to the hundreds of staff and students who volunteered their time to manage booths, present information sessions, host tours, and share their knowledge and experience of Flinders. Open Days would not be the success they are without your contributions.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m very pleased to report that almost 5,500 prospective students registered to join us over the Friday, Saturday and Sunday, a 25.8% increase in registrations from 2022 – and we still have our Tonsley and Riverland campus open days to come!<\/p>\n
Last week also saw the commencement of public hearings by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on the Establishment of Adelaide University. The Committee has been formed to consider the proposal and merits of the new university, proposed to be formed by the amalgamation of The University of Adelaide and the University of South Australia. The two universities have declared their desire to merge, but the merger itself requires Parliamentary approval by way of the passage of the necessary legislation.<\/p>\n
As an integral part of the sector, Flinders University was invited to provide evidence to the Committee, which I was pleased to do. Amongst the various topics that were canvassed during my testimony, I was proud to inform the Committee of the top-quality education and student experience we provide, together with our significant uplift in research income and impact \u2013 growing 140% in the last five years, representing the highest growth rate of any Australian university by a considerable margin.<\/p>\n