News
PLAN TO TRANSFORM CAMP STREET PRECINCT GETS MAJOR BOOST FROM VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT
Posted: Wednesday 8 June 2022
A plan to transform Federation University Australia’s Camp Street Campus in Ballarat is being supported with a $350,000 grant from the Victorian Government, to determine the best use for the site, which could become an exciting new cultural, arts, entertainment or business precinct.
The transformation of the 14,000 square metre campus site was highlighted as a city-changing project in Federation’s Campus Vision 2022-2025 launched earlier this year.
The grant from Regional Development Victoria’s Investment Fast-Track Fund (IFF) will enable the University to prepare a business case and development plan for the site.
Federation Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Duncan Bentley welcomed the funding, saying it signalled a major step forward for the project.
IFF grants support regional and rural projects to strengthen their investment evidence base by funding activities that support planning and preparation, thereby fast-tracking projects to the investment ready stage.
The business case and development plan will focus on consolidating university operations in the CBD into a Skills and Innovation Precinct at the SMB Campus on Lydiard Street, featuring a new purpose-built Arts Academy, an additional Centre for Business Excellence, a multi-storey car park, heritage building refits and large-scale urban design and streetscape works.
Teaching activity will be clustered at the revitalised SMB Campus bringing thousands of students into central Ballarat every day, creating a vibrant university town atmosphere, and generating new jobs and economic activity in the CBD.
The Camp Street Campus, which currently hosts the Arts Academy, does not meet the demands of modern performance arts programs. Relocating these programs to the revitalised SMB Campus, will allow Camp Street to become a vibrant heart of the Ballarat CBD.
Federation plans to co-design the new Camp Street precinct in partnership with the City of Ballarat, government, and the community.
Quotes attributable to Federation University Australia Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Duncan Bentley
“This is a once in a generation opportunity to transform the Ballarat city centre into a new precinct for the whole community to enjoy and we are excited to have the Victorian Government’s support for the project through this grant.”
“The $350,000 in funding is a major step forward in bringing our Campus Vision to life to create a vibrant cultural, arts, entertainment or business precinct for the whole community to enjoy.”
“The opportunity to provide a cultural precinct which incorporates Lydiard Street, the Art Gallery of Ballarat, Alfred Deakin Place, and the Camp Street University precinct will yield significant economic, cultural and social benefits for Ballarat, as the capital of western Victoria.”
Quote attributable to Member for Wendouree Juliana Addison MP
“This great initiative at Federation University is yet another step towards creating a university town in Ballarat, making it a destination for students from across Australia and the world.”
Quote attributable to Member for Buninyong Michaela Settle MP
“Camp Street sits in the heart of Ballarat and our investment will further develop a cultural hub and support our joint vision to build on the region’s world-class education reputation.”
Unearthing the past to enable a modern era for SMB Campus
Posted: Thursday 26 May 2022
The transformation of Federation University Australia’s SMB Campus has entered an exciting new phase with construction underway on a proposed IBM Emerging Technologies Hub.
The Hub will aim to support high-end displays and ways to interact with big and diverse data sets that are inherent in much of modern research.
The project will involve the extension of Technology Park Central to house the planned Hub, which will support researchers to showcase big data research, and to connect with industry partners, collaborators and students.
Quotes attributable to Federation University Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Duncan Bentley
“We have a vision to transform the historic SMB Campus into a vibrant teaching hub with a university town atmosphere where the university is connected to industry and community in the heart of the CBD.”
“The IBM Emerging Technologies Hub supports that vision and will allow our researchers to showcase big data sets that are inherent in much of modern research.”
More Information here
EY Australia opens regional Service Delivery Centre in Ballarat, expected to create hundreds of new jobs
Ernst & Young, Australia (“EY Australia”) today announces the creation of a new delivery centre in collaboration with the Victorian Government and Federation University which will be located in Ballarat, regional Victoria. The centre, which is expected to generate up to 200 new jobs in the Ballarat region over the next three years, will initially provide support to financial services clients who require Australia-based services to comply with data privacy and regulatory requirements.
More Information and career opportunities here
Consulting Giant’s Regional Move Boosts Ballarat Jobs
13 May 2022
An Australian consulting giant will establish a new office in Ballarat, creating up to 200 jobs in the important regional centre, backed by support from the Andrews Labor Government.
Minister for Economic Development Tim Pallas today announced the establishment of the Ernst & Young (EY) Service Delivery Centre at the Federation University Ballarat Tech Park in Mt Helen.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Economic Development Tim Pallas
“Investments like this show that regional Victoria is a great place to do business and a terrific source of talent.”
“We’ll keep creating the conditions that allow businesses such as EY to expand and put on new workers because it supports local communities and has flow-on benefits for the wider economy.”
More Information here
Concentrix Call Centre at University Drive Mt Helen
A new call centre, fitted out for Concentrix's expanding capabilities has been co-funded with The Victorian Government's "Living Regions, Living Suburbs" Grant and Federation University.
The project redeveloped one of the Federation University Technology Park’s assets to enable a substantial expansion of Concentrix’s regional call centre capacity, thereby increasing local employment. The project included works to subdivide the existing building, increasing the utilisation, and general facility upgrades.This project enabled a substantial expansion of Concentrix’s regional call centre capacity, thereby increasing local employment. The project included works to subdivide the existing building, increasing the utilisation, and general facility upgrades.
Read more here
Innovation centre brings hundreds of jobs to Gippsland
Thursday 14 January 2021
One of Victoria’s largest energy suppliers will call the Latrobe Valley home thanks to support from the Andrews Labor Government, creating hundreds of new jobs and boosting the local economy.
Minister for Regional Development Mary-Anne Thomas was in Morwell on Wednesday (13 January) to open the newly completed Innovation Centre and to announce that Alinta Energy will establish its customer operations hub within the new state-of-the art building, creating more than 230 jobs for the Latrobe Valley.
The Labor Government wholly funded the $17 million Centre, which is the centrepiece of the Gippsland High-Tech Precinct, through the $40 million Latrobe Valley Economic Development Program established in 2016.
The Government has also supported Alinta Energy through its investment attraction and Jobs Victoria program, enabling the company to commit to bringing its customer contact operations from the Philippines to the Centre.
The commitment from Alinta Energy to set up a principal operations hub for its retail business within the Centre builds on the company’s close community ties to Gippsland through its Loy Yang B Power Station.
The Innovation Centre is being managed by Federation University, with researchers to work closely with energy experts from the private sector to develop potential energy solutions.
The Centre will also host educational programs like the new subsidised Gippsland-based Master of Business Administration program providing business owners, entrepreneurs and leaders the tools to overcome challenges in their own organisations such as help with marketing and networking.
The Centre will also work with the adjacent Gippsland Tech School and TAFE Gippsland to ensure students have access to a broad range of opportunities and creating better pathways to higher education, research and industry.
Built to the highest environmental standards, key features of the new Centre include a 100-seat conference facility, commercial tenancies, and an innovation hub to promote creative thinking and practice.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Regional Development Mary-Anne Thomas
“This Centre will play an important role in the region’s transition and economic recovery – promoting different ways of doing business and fostering the innovation that will ensure the Valley’s best days are ahead of it.”
“The Centre complements the special Economic Growth Zone designation and the high-speed broadband improvements we’ve delivered to the Valley’s jobs precincts, helping to attract new businesses to the region.”
Quote attributable to Member for Eastern Victoria Harriet Shing
“This announcement is really positive news for the Valley - not only does it support local jobs, but it also continues our commitment to provide opportunities for growth in key industries.”
Quote attributable to Alinta Energy MD and CEO Jeff Dimery
“We’re establishing a new customer contact centre in Victoria so we can provide even better service and support to our customers. We thank the Victorian Government for their support to make this possible.”
Quote attributable to the Vice-Chancellor of Federation University Professor Duncan Bentley
“This Centre will be a lighthouse for innovation for the region, hosting events, accelerator programs and start-up business programs as they collectively seek to create new economic opportunities for our regional economy.”
Economic Impact Report
The IBM/Federation University 25-year partnership contributed $629 million in economic value to the Victorian economy between 2018-2019, a report released today reveals.
Commissioned jointly by IBM and the University to celebrate the quarter-century, the Western Research Institute report shows Ballarat Technology Park underpins 4435 jobs in the state, based on the same data period, and nearly 9 per cent of jobs in the Ballarat local government area.
The economic impact report finds during 2018-19, the Park is responsible for $381 million in household income in Victoria, and that IBM’s presence there delivers $124 million to the state’s gross product plus 711 jobs and $62 million in household income.
The report notes a 173 per cent increase to the Park’s economic contribution since 2009.
The Hon Jaala Pulford, Victorian Minister for Employment, Minister for Innovation, Medical Research and the Digital Economy, and Minister for Small Business, received the report at a ceremony at Ballarat Technology Park this afternoon.
IBM Australia’s P-TECH program also runs out of the Ballarat Technology Park in collaboration with Federation College, introducing high school students to IT.
The company intends to hire up to 100 more people in Ballarat in the coming year.
Quotes attributable to Katrina Troughton, Managing Director, IBM Australia & New Zealand.
“The success of our presence at the Ballarat Technology Park proves the value that corporations like IBM can gain, and give, from opening major facilities in regional Australia.”
“The partnership has created one of Australia’s most prestigious IT degrees – the Bachelor of IT (Professional Practice) – the establishment of the Earn as You Learn Scholarship for students, and providing the opportunity for more than 360 local and international students to graduate from the program, since 2001, with the future skills required to be successful in a digital economy.”
Quotes attributable to Federation University Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Duncan Bentley
“We are incredibly proud of the positive impact that the University partnerships have created here in Ballarat at the Technology Park. Our collaboration with IBM has seen more than 300 of 400 graduates of IT courses run by the University going on to work with IBM with many former students still employed there today. In fact, just a week ago this partnership was recognised with an Engagement Australia Excellence Award for Student Engagement.”
“Federation University’s collaboration with IBM, which has secured hundreds of jobs with the technology giant for Fed Uni students, highlights the transformative impact that Australia’s premier regional university can achieve in partnership with leading edge businesses such as IBM and a dynamic community.”
Quotes attributable to Minister for Innovation, Medical Research and the Digital Economy Jaala Pulford
“Congratulations to IBM and Federation University – it’s wonderful to see how the Ballarat Technology Park has evolved and how it continues to drive innovation and new opportunities for the region and the state.”
“Innovative and collaborative partnerships like this one are central to ensuring Victoria’s place in the global digital economy – generating high-skill, high-value jobs and growth for all Victorians.”
View Federation University Technology Park's Economic Impact Statement 2020 here:
View the Economic Impact Statement 2020 Media Release here:
Federation University's Flecknoe Building
A new dedicated digital innovation hub is now open at Federation University’s Flecknoe Building, providing a space for entrepreneurs, startups, technology specialists and researchers to collaborate within a single space.
The new space, Runway Ballarat, is to foster entrepreneurship, digital service and product development and support the commercialisation of new innovative products. The hub features a fabrication laboratory that will allow the manufacture of prototypes.
The hub, funded with $4.3 million from the Victorian government, was launched this week.
The opening of the hub was also accompanied by the launch of the Ballarat Runway Accelerator Program. Runway’s accelerator program nurtures regional start-ups and entrepreneurs and has already guided 47 people through its Geelong program.
State innovation and digital economy minister Philip Dalidakis said that the government was investing in a sector that will help the Victorian economy diversify and remain competitive in the future.
We are excited to partner with Federation University and Runway to deliver this project, which cements Ballarat as Australia’s leading regional centre for digital industries,
Dalidakis said
Police Call Centre Drives Jobs And Investment In Ballarat
Premier of Victoria, The Hon Daniel Andrews - 18 July 2018
Hundreds of jobs are on their way to Ballarat thanks to the Andrews Labor Government, with Victoria’s new Police Assistance Line (PAL) one step closer to setting up shop to assist Victorians across the state.
The Labor Government has provided $210 million to set up and operate the assistance line, part of its record investment in Victoria Police and community safety. The centre also includes a new online police reporting portal, to give the community faster access to non-emergency police reporting.
Read more here
New digital innovation hub opened in Ballarat
Manufactures' Monthly- Oct 2018
A new dedicated digital innovation hub has been opened at Federation University’s Flecknoe Building, providing a space for entrepreneurs, startups, technology specialists and researchers to collaborate within a single space.
The new space, Runway Ballarat, is to foster entrepreneurship, digital service and product development and support the commercialisation of new innovative products. The hub features a fabrication laboratory that will allow the manufacture of prototypes
Read more here
New Hi-Tech Jobs For The Latrobe Valley
Premier of Victoria, The Hon Daniel Andrews - 21 November 2016
The Latrobe Valley will get its own Hi-Tech Precinct to create jobs and open up the best work and education opportunities for local students, thanks to a $17 million investment from the Andrews Labor Government.
Based at the Federation Training site, it will bring together the new Morwell Tech School with Federation University, Federation Training, private tenants, and leading global tech firm Fujitsu as the likely anchor tenant.
Read more here