UWS and Parramatta City Council join to make Parramatta a 'Knowledge City'

 

Lord Mayor Councillor John Chedid and Vice-Chancellor Professor Janice Reid 

The University of Western Sydney and Parramatta City Council(opens in a new window) will join together to form a new strategic partnership set to transform Parramatta - Australia’s sixth largest CBD and the State’s fastest-growing region - into a 21st century ‘Knowledge City’. 


The wide-ranging ‘Knowledge City’ partnership will see the University and Council collaborate on a broad range of projects, which includes establishing a new UWS Parramatta City Campus, to be located in the heart of the Parramatta central business district, which will be open for business from 2014.

Announcing the ‘Knowledge City’ partnership today will be the Lord Mayor of Parramatta, Councillor John Chedid, and UWS Vice-Chancellor, Professor Janice Reid. 

The new Parramatta City Campus, located at 100 George Street, is in addition to the University’s existing Parramatta campus at Rydalmere, and will offer programs at a postgraduate level across business, law, social sciences and psychology, humanities, communication arts, computing, engineering and mathematics.

Importantly, it will embed the University within the bustling Parramatta central business district, where it will be co-located amongst the City’s leading businesses, law firms and government agencies – offering four floors of teaching and office space, and providing the University’s students with flexible, business and community-based learning options.

The Lord Mayor and the Vice-Chancellor say the ‘time is ripe’ for a strategic partnership, with both UWS and Parramatta experiencing unprecedented growth. 

The University and Council plan to collaborate on issues such as sustainable business networks, place and resource sharing, specialised employment strategies, professional development exchange, and joint advocacy.

The ‘Knowledge City’ partnership brings together representatives from Council and UWS to develop ‘shared communities’ of interest, working together on such things as:

• Improved connectivity between Parramatta CBD and UWS
• Shared use of venues and facilities 
• Increase links between business and academia
• Joint research and information sharing
• UWS graduate and internship programs
• Short-courses and professional development opportunities for Council staff

Lord Mayor Chedid says the long-term partnership will bring significant social and economic benefits to both Parramatta and the broader Greater Western Sydney region – setting the scene for Parramatta’s third evolution from early colonial town, to industrial and manufacturing hub, to key driver for the State’s knowledge economy.

“Parramatta is fortunate to be home to members of the dream demographic – 25 to 34 year olds who are tertiary-educated professionals, highly aspirant, multicultural and highly sought after by business. This group is the key to the growth of the Parramatta economy, and indeed, the Greater Western Sydney economy,” says Cr Chedid.

“Council sees this strategic partnership with UWS as a way to help us harness and invest in the potential of this next generation of leaders and make Western Sydney a truly globally connected, economic powerhouse,” says Cr Chedid.

Professor Reid says the ‘Knowledge City’ partnership recognises that the modern university needs to be highly integrated with its surrounding cities and communities.

“The University has had a long-standing, productive relationship with Parramatta Council, and we are very pleased to be entering a new phase marked by the wide-ranging ‘Knowledge City’ partnership we are announcing today,” she says.

“The strategic partnership between UWS and Parramatta City Council recognises the vital part that both universities and councils play in our civic society – a role that extends beyond the provision of services to one that makes a significant contribution to the social, economic and cultural life of their region.

“The University is committed to growing and optimising our presence in Parramatta. UWS has always been a university that is deeply embedded in its region, and we are delighted to be coming to Parramatta CBD as of next year with our very own city campus,” says Professor Reid.

Ends

5 December 2013

Photo: Designed Photography 

Contact: Amanda Whibley, Manager Media and Public Relations 

 

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