A university for the north

Abstract

April 2013. The sound of the drums drew me. I swung off Argyle Street under the railway towards the town square where I could see the flags waving. It was a bright, warm day and the crowd was celebrating the near victory of the Western Sydney Wanderers in the Australian A-League soccer competition. Wending my way through the crowd, I wandered down Church Street to the University of New England's recently opened Future Campus in the old Parramatta post office. This had been officially opened a few days before with a street party supported by another football code, in this case the Parramatta Eels Rugby League team. The University is one of the Eels' main sponsors. 'Parramatta Eels Help Launch UNE Future Campus' proclaimed the team website. Players were at the opening to provide support and to be photographed with their young fans. In welcoming the opening, Lord Mayor John Chedid had said in a statement that the city was fortunate to now have two leading universities, referring also to the Parramatta campus of the University of Western Sydney. The Mayor went on; "The establishment of the UNE Future Campus is an opportunity for everyone to experience a new generation of distance learning through the use of cutting-edge technology". I had reservations about the University's move to sponsor a major Rugby League team far from the home campus, but it has turned out to be a quite effective regional marketing strategy. As I write, the University has over 2,000 students in Western Sydney, including a number of Eels' players.