Penrith campus Provost

A message from Professor Yang Xiang, Provost, Penrith campus

Warm welcome to Penrith campus – One of University's largest campuses, both by numbers of students and staff (approximately 6500 students and more than 800 staff), and area (192 hectares spanning 3 sites: Kingswood, Werrington South and Werrington North). Subject areas taught on campus include Anthropology, Arts, Computing, Construction Management, Communication, Creative Industries, Criminology and Policing, Engineering, Entrepreneurship, Data Science, Health and Sports Science, Mathematics, Music, Psychology, Social Sciences, Tourism and Urban Planning, Teaching and Education. The campus is also home to Badanami Centre for Indigenous Education, The Academy and The College as well as the Tech Startup Incubator: Launch Pad. Outstanding and world leading research activity is taking place in the Translational Health Research Institute, The MARCS Institute, Centre for Research in Mathematics, Centre for Infrastructure Engineering, Werrington Park Corporate Park and the Centre for Smart Modern Construction. All of the activity on campus is contributing to the University’s recent success in being ranked within the top 1.5% in the world for Impact in meeting the United Nation’s Sustainability Development Goals.

The campus is a few kilometres east of Penrith adjacent to the Great Western Highway and in close proximity to the M4 as well as train stations at Kingswood and Werrington. The city of Penrith is home to over 216,000 people and sits at the foothills of the magnificent Blue Mountains World Heritage site on the Nepean River. The city is quickly growing a reputation as an adventure capital, with Penrith Lakes, the Regatta Centre and Whitewater Rafting facilities to the North, Penrith Panthers complex (including indoor skydiving) to the south, and adventure tourism in the Blue Mountains (rock climbing, abseiling, canyoning, mountain biking, hiking and bushwalking) to the west.

It is very easy to fall in love with the campus and area. It is a great privilege to be Campus Provost. As Provost, I have responsibility for campus life, community relations and specific issues relating to the Penrith campus. I chair the Penrith Campus Provost Committee consisting of representatives from student, academic and professional staff bodies, host events on campus for staff and student (e.g. the end of year functions, staff recognition awards, etc.) and oversee the Campus Life Grants program to support events on the campus such as our lunchtime music concert series, sustainability fair, and a variety of pop-up events. If you have an idea, that requires modest support, I would love to hear from you.

If you're new to campus, spend some time discovering its offerings. Considerable investment is underway to further develop the campus (recent examples include the new library and College facilities at Kingswood and the Werrington Park Corporate Centre at Werrington South). The campus is blessed with its views and wildlife (check out the mob of kangaroos on Werrington North, and while you are there go see the largest on-campus observatory in Australia). At Kingswood you'll find the majority of students and facilities. Starting at the north end you'll find the Playhouse performance space (check out the free Art of Sound concerts on Thursday lunchtime during semester), the tennis and basketball courts along with the sports fields. As you head south you'll come to the Connect Fitness Centre, the Swamp Bar and eateries in Building K. Continuing on you'll walk past and through some of our innovative learning spaces, such as the learning commons, the collaborative computer lab and learning space, and The Academy learning space in Building P. If you get a chance, take a look at the Wonderama lab in Building Y and the Solar Car (winner of the American Solar Challenge in 2018) and the Advanced Manufacturing facilities in Building Z. Up on the hill, one of the best Structural Testing Labs at NSW universities is hosted in Building XC. At the Southern end of Kingswood campus is the Village, our modern student residences.

Enjoy our Campus and stay connected!

To apply for a Campus Provost Grant, please visit the Campus Provost Grant page for guidelines and a link to the application form.