Media releases

Federation University has unveiled a plan to grow its Wimmera Campus into a vibrant hub for engagement, research, and vocational education activity with a central focus on indigenous reconciliation and sustainability.

The 2022-2025 Campus Vision launched today by Federation University Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Duncan Bentley sets out a clear way forward for Victoria’s premier regional university to build a strong and sustainable future across all the regions it serves.

Federation will embrace innovative forms of education delivery to prepare students for jobs of the future through programs and courses that will drive economic growth and jobs.

New technologies will be used to connect classrooms, people, and communities in new and productive ways.

In Horsham, the Wimmera Campus will celebrate its role as a learning hub and will host a research presence aligned with Federation’s Research Strategy. It will be upgraded with contemporary sustainability features to improve its efficiency and utilisation.

Projects highlighted in the Campus Vision for the Wimmera Campus include:

• Developing an accessible ground floor, multipurpose, shared library, and after-hours study spaces.
• Creating Places of Being to create a welcoming, relaxed connection to Country and brining indigenous knowledge and traditions into the heart of the campus.
• Refurbishing and expanding engineering workshops with state-of-the-art equipment that will recognise the importance of local manufacturing to the area and further develop opportunities for local employment.

To help drive these changes, a new Campus Director position is being created that will sit as part of Federation TAFE’s Executive team in place of the former Head of Campus Wimmera role. This reflects Federation’s focus on working closely with local industry to grow our TAFE offerings and ensure they are aligned with local demand for skills training and jobs growth in the region.

Federation University will be seeking community feedback on the Campus Vision through community consultation sessions in early 2022.

For more information visit: federation.edu.au/strategy/delivery-year-1/campus-vision.

Quotes attributable to Federation University Australia Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Duncan Bentley

“We are positioning Wimmera Campus to grow TAFE and work more closely with local industry to meet the skills needs of the region, while maintaining a continued commitment to higher education and research.”

“Today we start an important conversation with our communities in the Wimmera, government, industry partners, staff and students on what Federation University means to them and how we can grow together.”